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VIEW 3/9/15 2:46 PM Robert Steele Fwd: Seeking conversation on electoral reform
Folks, I started thinking about electoral reform when I wrote a quick book, free online, *ELECTION 2008: Lipstick on the Pig* , in 2008. In 2011 I was very exciting by Occupy and briefed the Occupy working group on Electoral Reform in a 6 minute video that went viral and is still at YouTube (Steele occupy electoral reform ). After Occupy a ton of stakeholders came out of
VIEW 3/9/15 2:46 PM Rick Raddatz New transpartisan website
Fellow Transpartisans, I invite you to check out my new website, describing the transpartisan philosophy known as "pentanomics" Http://Pentanomics.org I'm producing a new video each day, each covering a different topic. Feel free to privately email topic suggestions / challenges to me. - Rick Raddatz, Pentanomics.org P.S. You can get printable handouts of key tables and graphs at http://Pentanomics.com/library ############################ To unsubscribe from the TRANSPARTI
VIEW 3/9/15 2:46 PM John Backman Re: Daniel Levenson on crowdsourcing cross-partisan dialog
This is great work. I must say, though, that I'm sorry Team Levenson's project wasn't selected. The category winners (if I read them correctly) were all geared toward fostering greater citizen engagement, which of course is a good thing. But an initiative to foster collaboration between members of Congress struck me as a novel idea. Is it, or have I just missed all the other similar ideas out there? John Backman The Dialogue Venture
VIEW 3/9/15 2:46 PM Sandy Heierbacher Daniel Levenson on crowdsourcing cross-partisan dialogue sol
Hi, everyone! Just came across this and thought I'd share it on the transpartisan list. This post was on the blog of one of our NCDD members, the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School. Sandy _______________________________ k Sandy Heierbacher k Director, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation sandy@ncdd.org
* www.ncdd.org
* @ncdd & @heierbacher Reflections on #Hack4Congress: Daniel E. Levenson, Crowdsourcing Cross-Pa
VIEW 3/9/15 2:46 PM Lawrence Chickering Re: on "truth" and change
I have two thoughts on this. 1. Some issues have clear boundaries of right and wrong. As an example, Michael Novak proposes rape. I am willing to create space for someone to come forward and say why rape is right. I can't, myself, think of any reason why that statement might be true -- I believe rape is always wrong. It might be useful to open this discussion to anyone who can come forward with something no one has thought of on this issue. 2. My second thought is muc
VIEW 3/9/15 2:46 PM Michael Briand on "truth" and change
Esther had written: "I...question the term, search for 'truth', since that implies that someone is right and someone is wrong." Personally, I find it more helpful to allow that truth exists, but isn't knowable. "Beyond" ("beneath," "behind," etc.) what we are able to verify with observation, induction, and deduction there may be a reality we are unable to capture with our metaphors and models. Indeed, it is because direct apprehension of that reality is not open to us that we must conten
VIEW 2/9/15 12:43 PM Rickrad Re: transpartisan momentum
That's a great question. Their answer, I suspect, would be that there is no guarantee and that some states would be better than others, but that's ok -- over time, best practices will become clear. My personal answer is that the one string attached to a block grant should be a requirement that the spending be prioritized -- ranked from top to bottom -- like how Oregon prioritizes Medicaid procedures. Such a requirement would put add a new type of pressure, encouraging the right decisions.
VIEW 2/9/15 12:43 PM John Backman Re: transpartisan momentum
Thank you for bringing this up, Rick. Oddly (because I'm not conservative on many issues), something about this effort appeals to me. Maybe it's the novel (yet thoroughly constitutional) approach to revisiting the very roots of a worldview--i.e., small government for conservatives--and trying to align the government with that worldview. In my book, it beats the one-off threats of constitutional amendments on isolated, and often not amendment-worthy, issues. One question for now: In what
VIEW 2/9/15 12:43 PM Rickrad Re: transpartisan momentum
John Backman -- An example to how they are waking up to the transpartisan possibilities is that one of their core messages is that they believe state legislators can decide how to help people in their state better than the federal government can. Now this is *not* a "states' rights"-based argument... this is a question as to who can best pursue social justice (see attached handout for my take on this). So they are effectively saying "50 different dialogs about how best to help people is better
VIEW 2/9/15 12:43 PM John Backman Re: transpartisan momentum
<> Strictly as an aside, I always wonder how they can sustain this belief given the existence of the New York State Legislature. I don't mean this cynically, but rather as an actual question, since New York's dysfunction can sometimes make the federal government seem a model of efficiency and civility. John Backman The Dial
VIEW 2/9/15 12:43 PM Rick Raddatz transpartisan momentum
Hello fellow transpartisans, There's a movement you're going to be hearing more and more about called "convention of states". they have operations in 39 states, 430,000 supporters and growing fast. Here's their website: http://ConventionOfStates.com Right now, they are a completely right-dominated movement but here's what's interesting: the reform they are advocating has the potential to lead to transpartisan success and they are starting to wake up to that idea. You see, what the
VIEW 1/8/15 11:40 AM Ben Levi FW: Can Conversations on Crises Change Civilization?
I wanted to invite Transpartisan folks to join us in a series of Bohm Dialogues, Open Space and World Café conversations happening in January online in Maestro calls (register here ), an online collaborative platform called hackpad , and also a video conferencing platform for Bohm Dialogues. It promises to be a fun experiment, sharing ideas with the intention to emerge healthy action
VIEW 12/22/14 9:54 AM John Backman Re: Transpartisan panel convened at Reinventors
Thanks so much for sharing this, Debilyn. Well-done recap, and a very well chosen group of commentators. A few things stood out for me, and I wonder what y'all think of them: 1. Rich Tafel of the Log Cabin Republicans described the "shadow side" of conservatism as the fear that traditional values and ways are going away. I've noted the same fear at times in my writing, but now I'm wondering: do conservatives actually sense this fear-and does it motivate them-or is this a prog
VIEW 12/22/14 9:54 AM "Debilyn Molineaux, Living Room Conversations" Transpartisan panel convened at Reinventors
On behalf of John Steiner, steiner_king@earthlink.net How do we heal the heart of our democracy and find ways to work together across America's two party political divide? With Joan Blades Lawry Chickering, Debilyn Molineaux, Rich Tafel, Jackie Salit, Jacob Hess and Elisa Batista, hosted by Peter Leyden 10-minute Recap video: http://reinventors.net/videos/reinvent-bipartisanship-recap/ Deb
VIEW 11/15/14 4:29 PM John Eley Re: Why Partyism is Wrong
I wonder if we are seeking something basic at work in increasing partyism in the form of a redirection of our innate tendency to separate ourselves from others that are clearly not like us from the social arena to the political arena produced by a significant decrease in out ability to express our disdain for others in social settings as a means for expressing our identity. I think that this idea was floated by Manuel Castells some years ago. Is it the case that the inability of our
VIEW 11/15/14 4:29 PM Sean Long Re: Why Partyism is Wrong
As a college senior, I recently experienced a similar feeling to that of the student in Brooks' article. I am a Democrat considering working for a Republican office in a Republican-controlled Congress, and one office's legislative assistant recently told me an "unwritten rule" for working in Congress: staffers are only allowed to switch parties once. Another staff assistant and a friend who interned in a Senate office confirmed this tacit rule. I wonder: what would a "transpartisan" a
VIEW 11/15/14 4:29 PM Ted Celeste Re: Why Partyism is Wrong
Thanks, Deb and Mark. David Brooks has pointed out a huge issue within our political arena - "To compromise is to betray your very identity". If we are to change that misconception, then it begins with each of us knowing who we really are, where we came from and where we are headed. With that firm understanding, we then can begin to explore the origins of others around us - our family, friends and colleagues and what makes them who they are. Real communication built on trust and respect ca
VIEW 11/15/14 4:29 PM John Backman Re: Why Partyism is Wrong
Great article. I've been thinking about this in terms of what I see as the most fundamental divide between Democrats and Republicans: the role and size of the federal government vis-à-vis those of the states. It strikes me (history scholars, correct me if I'm wrong) that the whole issue is an accident of history--a hashing out of how 13 separate nation-states could come together under one government. Yes, there were issues of power involved, but in many ways this is a practical challenge.
VIEW 11/3/14 4:38 AM Debilyn Molineaux Why Partyism is Wrong
On behalf of Mark Gerzon Why Partyism Is Wrong OCT. 27, 2014 David Brooks A college student came to me recently with a quandary. He'd spent the summer interning at a conservative think tank. Now he was applying to schools and companies where most people were liberal. Should he remove the internship from his résumé? I advised him not to. Even if people disagreed with his politics, I argued, they'd still appreciate his public spiritedness. But now I'm thinking that advice was wrong. The
VIEW 10/18/14 5:57 AM Jacob Hess Re: PROPOSAL FOR ACTION (AND REQUEST FOR OTHERS)
Dear Trans-partiers, I was surprised there wasn't a bigger response to Mark Gerzon's "proposal for action." I thought it was a great way to gather ideas from the people willing to lead them. In collaboration with Joan and Debilyn at Living Room conversations, I've been working up a draft manuscript of an idea that several others have raised in the past (Amanda Roman, Michael Ostrelink, Steve Bhaerman, John Steiner) - and that I'm excited to move on and help convene the right team to make
VIEW 9/6/14 4:34 PM Barbara Simonetti NYT interview of Parker Palmer and opportunity to comment to
Hi, Just want to make my fellow NCDD'ers (especially those on this list) aware of a piece in today's NYT that interviews Parker Palmer and describes what we do. There is an open comment section that so far contains some really cynical remarks along with some positive ones. You can jump into that conversation for the next few hours. What do you think of the article, the comments and the opportunity? I am hoping we can use the comments section as a way to open up the discussion about the
VIEW 9/6/14 4:34 PM Cynthia Kurtz Re: Leadership Affinity Network
Bruce, I like this idea a lot (and I like the name). On the meanings of words, I agree that "there is no universal common standard for agreement on words" and that words like "freedom" and "fairness" cannot be stated simply as if everyone meant the same thing by them. (See Deborah Stone's _Policy Paradox_ and Carol Gilligan's _In a Different Voice_ for support on this.) However, I do think that people working together can agree on a set of operational meanings for selected terms -
VIEW 9/2/14 4:27 PM David Nevins Re: Leadership Affinity Network
To all, I want to thank those who have responded to my "A World in Turmoil" post both as a listserv response and a response to just me. My writing must have struck a chord because I have received several responses. I applaud Bruce Schuman's concept of an "leadership affinity network". However, Bruce's approach is a project in and of itself, that if successful could create a long term-process for the Transpartisan movement of dialoguing. I frankly doubt that at this time the movement ha
VIEW 9/2/14 4:27 PM Michael Briand Warning. Tangential issue ahead. Non-philosophers should e
Just a footnote, Bruce, to your contention that "there is no universal common standard for agreement on words, and without a Supreme Court as final arbiter, arguments about words in politics go on forever. So -- the real way word meanings work in the world is: words mean to us what we think they mean." Well, actually, there is a standard and there is a "supreme court." The latter is the community of speakers of a language--in our case, American English (with the Anglo-American world a broa
VIEW 9/2/14 4:27 PM Bruce Schuman Leadership Affinity Network
Thank you, David. I too saw the Kissinger article, and saved it to my framework for special consideration. As I wrote to you privately (thanks for the reply), I expect to go through the Kissinger article and comment on some of the important points he makes. But I want to suggest an action proposal, as a framework for any philosophical observations. LEADERSHIP AFFINITY NETWORK The idea that has been emerging for me -- helped along by some very strong comments from
VIEW 9/2/14 4:27 PM Tom Atlee Re: A world in Turmoil
It makes a tremendous difference a. if at least Greens and Libertarians are included, along with Republicans and Democrats (although, as people on this list know, I always prefer randomly selected citizens who would HEAR from Dems, Reps Greens, and Libertarians, etc., for starters) and b. what kind of interactive process or processes are used to help whoever is coming together to "include and transcend" their different perspectives (and I know there are a number of good candidates for su
VIEW 9/1/14 2:25 PM David Nevins A world in Turmoil
The turmoil in the world is perhaps the most critical issue facing our country today. Whether the polling data yet shows that the American public has caught up with the events and understands the critical nature of what is occurring around the world, is less important then understanding that this dramatic change potentially impacts our country more then any other issue of our time. If you have not already done so I suggest you read Henry Kissinger's "On the Assembly of a New World Order" fro
VIEW 9/1/14 2:25 PM Jacob Hess Re: an idea
I think it's a great idea, Michael - and really nicely articulated here. I especially like how this might help puncture the larger narrative of "we're so divided that we just can't agree on ANYTHING anymore." Also, it makes a lot of sense that creating texts as you suggest could stimulate and inspire broader engagement in the conversation. I've always liked how Public Agenda creates nice written guides for the issues around which they're doing work. My only suggestion would be that we
VIEW 9/1/14 2:25 PM Michael Briand Re: Fwd: Fukuyama's "America in Decay"
Yes, Fukuyama's piece is exceptionally lucid and compelling. It seems to me that it's also strikingly transpartisan (though of course there will be differences concerning how we should respond to various particular points he makes). His analysis certainly isn't what most Americans remember (if they recall anything at all) from their high school textbooks (or even from the odd college course or two). Fukuyama's conclusion that only some shock to the system is likely to stir the doldrums of
VIEW 8/25/14 8:48 AM Larry Pennings Re: Citizen Panels coming to NCDD conference
The Jefferson Center , a sister organization to Healthy Democracy, utilizes the Citizens Jury method to help diverse groups of everyday citizens engage in informed policy discussion and recommend action on issues that affect their lives. Recently a group of randomly selected people representing the demographics of a rural MN community discussed how changing climate is impacting them and recommended action. Typically, at the close of Citizens Jury event
VIEW 8/25/14 8:48 AM Michael Briand an idea
Friends: Several issues have been proposed recently that might be "ripe" for transpartisan resolution. What, exactly, are the purposes to which identifying these issues would be put? One purpose might be to call attention to the issues themselves, perhaps as examples of political issues for which proposals exist (or can be crafted) that Americans would support across partisan lines. Another purpose might be to call attention to the existence within the public of a disposition to or sympat
VIEW 8/24/14 10:23 AM Lawrence Chickering Fwd: Fukuyama's "America in Decay"
I would say it much more forcefully. This is a staggeringly thoughtful and depressing meditation on governmental dysfunction in the U.S. Fukuyama's analysis should shake people at every point on the political spectrum out of any comfort they feel at the positions they hold and should push them to step back and rethink where we are and where we are going. Lawry Chickering Educate Girls Globally Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: > From: Michael Strong
VIEW 8/24/14 10:23 AM Rosa Zubizarreta Re: Fukuyama's "America in Decay"
Dear Michael, I have just finished watching the video of your talk at UFM. Awesome!!! It has inspired me to post on this list, where I've been mostly silent... and also, to write to you directly. Where to begin... Since 2000, I have been involved with the development of a social innovation that supports people in speaking their own truth. "Training wheels for courage", you might say... Currently this work is spreading the most in Europe; the video below
VIEW 8/24/14 10:23 AM "Debilyn Molineaux, Living Room Conversations" Citizen Panels coming to NCDD conference
Healthy Democracy offers a Citizen's Initiative Review that has been around for three (?) election cycles, using citizen panelists to review facts, interview proponents and opponents of ballot measures, then make a recommendation to fellow citizens, which is publicized and printed in the voter pamphlet. What other citizen engagement programs in political decision making do you know about? How does it move us beyond partisanship? How large is this aspect of our field? Debilyn Molineaux,
VIEW 8/24/14 10:23 AM Michael Strong Fukuyama's "America in Decay"
Thoughtful analysis concluding: "The depressing bottom line is that given how self-reinforcing the country's political malaise is, and how unlikely the prospects for constructive incremental reform are, the decay of American politics will probably continue until some external shock comes along to catalyze a true reform coalition and galvanize it into action." http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/141729/francis-fukuyama/america-in-decay -- Michael Strong
VIEW 8/22/14 5:10 PM Joan Blades Re: More thoughts re clarity first
Hi John; Yes, leading or participating in a an effort to create awareness that there is an issue the vast majority of Americans agree needs to be addressed (when they know about it) and then passing FAIR as a first step. Sarah Stillman -- wrote this great piece for the New Yorker on police/prosecutorial misconduct and civil forfeiture last year. A recent Daily Show segment about the issue generally: http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/pjxlrn/highway-robbing-highway-patrolmen This sh
VIEW 8/22/14 5:10 PM Rickrad Re: Politics in the blender
Thanks for forwarding this transpartisan op-ed Bruce. I would like to call attention to the fact that Rep. Ryan's transpartisan anti-poverty proposal the op-ed mentions (block grants to states combined with competition between vendors who supply anti-poverty programs) is an early form of "cap and prioritize" and is, therefore, the beginning of the union of freedom and fairness. However, based on the caustic reaction from left-leaning leaders to Ryan's plan (a necessary side-effect of poli
VIEW 8/22/14 5:10 PM John Backman Re: More thoughts re clarity first
Joan, are you thinking about the members of this listserv leading the coordination and facilitation of a dialogue/deliberation effort around FAIR? You're right; that COULD be fun. John Backman www.dialogueventure.com www.huffingtonpost.com/john-backman Board member, NCDD (join us at the National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation Octob
VIEW 8/22/14 5:10 PM John Backman Re: Politics in the blender
Thank you for sharing this, Bruce. In NCDD, we've talked for years about the dearth of conservatives in D&D, so this article has me wondering. Brooks clearly appreciates the value of "trait trespassing," i.e., developing and adopting good ideas no matter what their origin. Does it automatically follow that he has an interest in dialoguing with the folks across the aisle? More broadly, does this article exemplify some sort of sea change-or, if that's too dramatic, an evolution-toward D&D fr
VIEW 8/22/14 5:10 PM Joan Blades Re: More thoughts re clarity first
It has occurred to me that the transpartisan community might be able to have a strong tangible impact in the near term around the Redeem, Smarter Sentencing and Fair acts. These are federal bills that are already introduced. I'm quite sure well over 90% of citizens would approve of the FAIR act, yet I'm being told that it is likely to languish due to political dysfunction. This could be an incredibly opportunity to prove the value of collaboration by individuals and organizations with d
VIEW 8/22/14 5:10 PM Evelyn Messinger A hot transpartisan topic, ripped from today's headlines
One issue has arisen (carbon tax) and has received interest and generated ideas by both conservatives and liberals on this list. That seems to me to be the best criteria for inclusion. Another issue with high potential for discussion and possibly agreement is the very hot current topic of local police getting armed up with military gear. I've been on the lookout for defense of this practice on the right or the left, but see only nascent agreement. Is this a good one for transpartisans?
VIEW 8/22/14 5:10 PM Bruce Schuman Politics in the blender
Great op-ed in the New York Times today, with this graphic Breaking out of the Party Box - by Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/opinion/breaking-out-of-the-party-box.html ?emc=edit_ty_20140819 &nl=opinion&nlid=50312942 FOR years, conservative politicians have been
VIEW 8/22/14 5:10 PM Michael Briand Re: More thoughts re clarity first
I just want to point out that Steven has offered three criteria we might consider adopting for the purpose of evaluating and prioritizing our options; 1. Rigorous analysis and prediction. (Insofar as this is possible. I've found that even the most careful quantitative examination can eventually arrive at a point where nothing is clear, much like the photographic image in the Antonioni movie, Blow-Up.) 2. Personal responsibility. Whether or not we think this is important, it's worth di
VIEW 8/22/14 5:10 PM David Nevins Re: Fwd: Action: Creating a coalition for a revenue neutra
I agree 100% with Bruce Schuman's comment relating to the carbon tax writings on listserv when he said "what we ought to be doing is -- designing some way to take on hundreds of issues -- pick the one you are interested in, solicit participation, build a network, push your angle, build a coalition, whatever -- Last week I wrote a posting in which I listed four calls to action important to me and asked people to respond to me directly, rather then get everyone involved in a subject that might
VIEW 8/22/14 5:10 PM John Backman Re: More thoughts re clarity first
<< it would be a mistake to do Transpartisan dialogue without first making a commitment to substantive reasoning, and following it wherever it leads, however unfashionable its discoveries might turn out to be.>> Steve, I couldn't agree more. For me, this process is fundamental to transpartisan dialogue-so fundamental that, without it, we'd be hard pressed to call what we were doing either transpartisan or dialogue. John Backman www.dialo
VIEW 8/22/14 5:10 PM Rick Raddatz Re: More thoughts re clarity first
If we are seeking a focused issue to unite transpartisans and inspire us/them to action, perhaps it would be better if we stick to what we know best -- the need for better dialog and deliberation at all levels of government. Such a focus would, I believe, connect to all of our pet projects and to whatever pet projects the people we want to reach out to might be focused on. Climate change and carbon taxes, I believe, are simply out of our reach. In other words, I second Mark Gerzon's c
VIEW 8/19/14 3:32 PM Bruce Schuman Re: Fwd: Action: Creating a coalition for a revenue neutra
Sorry, but I don't get this conversation. As I understand it, this NCDD/Transpartisan discussion is explicitly not about particular issues -- and from my point of view, if we want to get into particular issues -- and very likely we should -- there are hundreds to look at. Carbon Tax is interesting to some people -- but what I personally am interested in is broken government -- and our collective inability to deal effectively with hundreds of issues, ALL of which are taking us down. And
VIEW 8/19/14 3:32 PM Steven H Johnson More thoughts re clarity first
I want to sound three cautionary notes. First, our political culture suffers on both sides from a lack of substantive rigor. We test ideas for whether they're fashionable but not for whether they're founded on genuine substance. I saw this up close when I dug into the Social Security issue in the late Clinton years, when it was up for discussion. What I discovered was depressing. Conservatives were substantively wrong about the promise of Independent Retirement Accounts. Cato's most ambi
VIEW 8/19/14 6:22 AM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: Fwd: Action: Creating a coalition for a revenue neutra
Possible win/win/win:

Use income from both a carbon tax AND other internalized externalities (the planet doesn't only provide us with energy sources, but also with water, forests, fish stocks, etc., as Michael S's article explores) to dramatically reduce (but not eliminate) both payroll and corporate taxes.

When a much sma
VIEW 8/19/14 6:22 AM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: Fwd: Action: Creating a coalition for a revenue neutra
Hello all,

It seems to me that we do need to back up and slow down a bit, yet it also feels like we're tantalizingly close to something that could draw widespread support in a big way.

Close and not close. My hunch is that a substitute for the corporate tax is about as likely to draw concerted opposition from the left as a
VIEW 8/18/14 5:52 PM David Nevins Re: Fwd: Action: Creating a coalition for a revenue neutra
To All, Bravo to Michael Brand. I couldn't agree more. I've followed the thread on climate change, which according to my account now comprises 12 writings. The scope and depth of the writings is quite impressive. The additional understanding I have of the complexities of climate change solutions as a result of the writings has been well worth my time. However I agree with Michael, that the first step for any call to action must be to address the general nature of a call to action rat
VIEW 8/18/14 5:52 PM Evelyn Messinger Re: A method in search of a question?
This discussion of a carbon tax is exactly what I have been hoping to see in this list. The many opinions being expressed can be viewed as a mirror of how the public and even the pundits would discuss the issue if it were put forward in the political context. And grappling with a real world issue is the only way to learn if and what a transpartisan movement could look like. Evelyn Messinger Executive Director Internews Interactive http://citizenschannel.org On Sat, Aug 16, 2014
VIEW 8/18/14 12:22 PM "Debilyn Molineaux, Living Room Conversations" Listserv queue...
Wow! We've had a lot of great activity the last few days and there are many messages waiting approval. I'll be sending out your emails today, please be patient with the # of emails and the approval times. Thank you! Debilyn Molineaux, Managing Partner Living Room Conversations debilyn@livingroomconversations.org ############################ To unsubscribe from the TRANSPARTISAN list: write to: mailto:TRANSPARTISAN-SIGNOFF-REQUEST@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG or click the followin
VIEW 8/18/14 12:22 PM Tom Atlee Re: Fwd: Action: Creating a coalition for a revenue neutra
One note on process, one note on content (and then I'll probably disappear for a while, due to the participation restrictions in this list's ground rules). CONTENT: Revenue from a carbon tax can also be distributed by direct payment to everyone - the so-called dividend approach http://www.carbontax.org/issues/investingrecycling-the-revenues/dividends/ An existing example often pointed to is that everyone in Alaska gets a direct payment from the government as their share of state income fr
VIEW 8/17/14 12:00 PM Michael Briand Re: Fwd: Action: Creating a coalition for a revenue neutra
Friends: I'm sure the issue proposed by Michael S. would lead to a useful and productive discussion. But I don't wish to weigh in on the matter of what topics we ought to consider or what actions we might take. I want only to observe that it's very difficult to get anywhere in decision-oriented conversations like this without being explicit about our purpose and our criteria for evaluating and choosing among options. Even if we don't need something as formal and detailed as a strategic p
VIEW 8/17/14 12:00 PM Lawrence Chickering Re: Fwd: Action: Creating a coalition for a revenue neutra
This is a wonderful idea. I went to see Bernie Munk in his NY apartment half a dozen years ago to talk about these issues. Finding a champion on the right as co-advocate with Gore is crucially important. I would devote some effort to building a transpartisan coalition in the early stages, away from TV cameras, protecting against ambush of the idea by a demogogic left-right coalition in opposition. A small footnote needs to be included in the proposal regarding the time horizon du
VIEW 8/17/14 12:00 PM Rick Raddatz Re: A method in search of a question?
I agree with Michael S that internalizing externalities is the ideal way to achieve sustainability, but there are still two big problems. 1) The true cost of the externalities are so great and 2) the barrier for industries to outsource to countries less concerned with such externalities is so low that achieving true sustainability is impossible. The solution, I will argue, is implementing cap-and-prioritize at the national level, letting it spread around the globe (carrying democracy, cap
VIEW 8/17/14 12:00 PM Steven H Johnson Re: A method in search of a question?
I think there are any number of environmental issues where Michael Strong's approach should be on the table and where it will often be a sensible response. But I have to wonder whether the Energy/Climate/Oceans issue quite fits the framework Michael described. Climate change and ocean acidification cannot be halted until the growth in atmospheric CO2 has been halted. And the growth in CO2 cannot be halted till a modernized energy economy has fully replaced today's fossil fuel energy economy
VIEW 8/17/14 12:00 PM Michael Strong Fwd: Action: Creating a coalition for a revenue neutral carb
Following up on Tom Atlee's suggestion for issues, I'd like to suggest that the group considering organizing a campaign for a revenue neutral tax swap to exchange carbon taxes for either payroll taxes or corporate taxes. One of the challenges of creating transpartisan action is that many partisans live in almost completely different conceptual universes. Thus, at the extreme, in the case of climate change, there are some on the left who believe that we are facing the end of the world an
VIEW 8/17/14 12:00 PM Tom Atlee Re: A method in search of a question?
Internalizing externalities is one of those high-leverage solutions that would never come up on a solution/issue public poll. It is not well known and requires a level of systemic thinking to comprehend its power. But if social and environmental costs are internalized into products, the free market will then (theoretically) heal the world instead of destroying it. Given that I fully support it - and often name it as possibly our highest leverage potential economic policy shift - I think it
VIEW 8/17/14 12:00 PM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: A method in search of a question?
Hello Michael,

Your article was excellent and basically I think your approach is sound. I'm not sure one has to look at values change and harnessing the market as opposites. I think values change could lend the general support that makes such harnessing possible. I've been teaching in a school of largely conservative evangelicals
VIEW 8/16/14 1:53 PM Michael Strong Re: A method in search of a question?
With respect to environmental issues, the most effective way to shift "business models" is to internalize externalities: Incorporate the costs of environmental damage into the costs of supplies. If one does that, then all accounting systems, all profit and loss statements, all projections of ROI automatically take environmental harms into consideration. This approach is much more effective than is exhortation (e.g. "Business should care more for the environment") or the idea of B-Corpor
VIEW 8/14/14 4:30 PM Michael Briand Re: Putting the pieces together
Bruce and colleagues: 1) we need to move towards a collaborative form of action; and 2) to accomplish this, we need "dialogue" -- or maybe some strong basic approaches to brainstorming-at-a-distance. How will we know whether a proposal gains enough support to move it forward? (Perhaps Bruce's survey will help.) I would like to see the emergence of a comprehensive framework that draws together all phases of the transpartisan movement. Yes, we can build an approach based on so
VIEW 8/14/14 4:30 PM Bruce Schuman Putting the pieces together
Dear Transpartisans - Just wanted to offer a perspective on this project. Mark Gerzon's proposal and approach seems very appropriate to me - though I do agree with John Miller that exactly as described, it does tend to "lack a feedback loop" (ie, as a group we need to know what others are suggesting, and keeping this private can be misleading and/or discouraging). But yes - 1) we need to move towards a collaborative form of action; and 2) to accomplish this, we need "dialo
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM David Nevins Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
To all, I started a dialogue a few weeks ago about the relationship of action versus intellectual debate on listserv. In that posting I said "It is my hope that a structure can be brought to the transpartisan dynamic that is more than just an intellectual sharing of ideas, but instead results in the creation of an organizational framework that will serve as the conceptual plan for a powerful national political movement." There were many listings in response to mine, voicing differing opinions
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Jed Miller Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
Hi, Transpartisan champions, I've been a lurker til now and include a basic bio below. I've been involved in social change projects online and on the "bridge" between online and offline dialogue for many years, mostly as a digital strategist. Two things I think the group might consider. First, I strongly agree with Phil, below. Dialogue can be an end in itself, but I saw this list as a planning and action group more than a "norming" or "defining" group. (More matter, with less art, as to-t
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Phil Neisser Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
Dear Friends of Transpartisanship To my mind, or from my point of view, there is a confusion in our discussion, because two laudable goals are in play at once (also it is of course very possible that it is just me who is confused).:-) To wit: We (the listserve discussion group) seem to be operating as (1) a group having a discussion about society and politics and (2) a group discussing how it is that we might best go about encouraging/fostering/creating transpartisan discus
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Steven H Johnson Re: A method in search of a question?
Tom, you're instincts are right. "Value chain" as used in the business world is much narrower in meaning. One can look at farming as a value chain that begins with a seed company at one end and finishes with a family eating food at the other, and then disposing of human waste. If they have a composting toilet, perhaps the value chain loops all the way back around to the farm again. One can look at the energy industry as a value chain that begins with wells and mines and ends with con
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Jacob Hess Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
Rather than deciding whether "theoretical"discussions are welcome, Rick - I was suggesting that there are different kinds of theoretical discussion - some of which may not be relevant to the listserv and others very much so - e.g., competing interpretations of dialogue, deliberation and transpartisan work vs. competing interpretations of how other practices institutions and institutions should operate. Just watched your Tedtalk, Rick - some fascinating stuff! --Jacob -- Jacob Z. He
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: A method in search of a question?
Hi all, I like Mark Gerzon's idea in some ways, but it seems to be missing a feedback loop. If we only reply to the people whose projects we want to work on/support, the rest of the group doesn't see which projects are the most popular. As social beings, we're interested in this--we tend to think that the most popular ones are worth checking out. This may seem shallow, but I think it can play a positive role, as a lot of people behind an initiative can help drive it mainstream, whereas I worr
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Rick Raddatz Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
Jacob, Thx for the suggestion in the PS that we maintain the theoretical discussion here. A few months ago I would have agreed with you but I have come to agree with sandy that a listserv is the wrong medium for such discussion. If anyone wants a theoretical fix, just call me at 303-720-9913 during daylight hours : ) - Rick http://IncentiveReform.org P.S. Of course, I only speak for myself. If others want to continue the theoretical discussion here and convince management t
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Tom Atlee Re: A method in search of a question?
Hear! Hear! .... I think... Not being connected much to the corporate/business world, I'm less conversant with "business models" and "value chains". So I'll venture an intuitive broad definition of these to see if they work for Steven et al. 1. A business model is a way of organizing an activity - a way of "setting things up" - to produce (and continue to produce) something of value. In this sense, the U.S. Constitution is a "business model", as are a family and a tax code. 2. A val
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Steven H Johnson A method in search of a question?
Hi everyone, In principle, I like Mark Gerzon's suggestion that those of us who want to explore individual issues in greater depth should seek volunteers to participate and work together - offline - to see where their dialogue takes them. Perhaps they'll develop some breakthru insights. But somehow I'm not fully sold, and here's my concern. It's a concern that applies not only to Mark's suggestion, but also to some of the excellent comments of Tom Atlee as well. We live in a time of b
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Jacob Hess Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
Thanks all, for such thoughtful responses this week. As Sandy, Michael and others pointed out, listserv (and vacation) traffic varies naturally for lots of reasons. Equally clear in the comments is the wide variation in expectations of a listserv (and transpartisan work itself). Although I'm excited to explore these powerful action proposals David, Mark and Tom have each raised, I'm personally still a little preoccupied by the tension between "action" and "talk" itself (or between a "prac
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM David Nevins Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
I've been quite surprised as to the depth of responses to my writing in which I suggested that the listserv perhaps could serve more as a call to action then just an exchange of theoretical ideas. I think much of what Sandy said in her response is true that listservs are not a good format for the coordination of action. I also believe that Michael Brand hit the nail on the head when he said that despite the fact that my thoughts on a "call to action" will probably resonate with many peopl
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Mark Gerzon PROPOSAL FOR ACTION (AND REQUEST FOR OTHERS)
Dear Colleagues, I have been heartened by the "call to action" that has surfaced in the last several days, and agree that it is time in the transpartisan field for us to coalesce around certain initiatives. I also agree with Sandy Heierbacher that this communication medium is not the ideal organizing channel, and that other forms need to emerge. Furthermore, I agree with Tom Atlee that the strongest approach is dialogue and action, not one or the other -- or, as Michael Briand said (quo
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Rick Raddatz Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
I believe we need a separate forum for the theoretical debate, using different mediums, tools and organization. I am starting a debate-society to explore the more theoretical side (coming in sept) and if anyone wants to help me do that, I would welcome it. - Rick Raddatz IncentiveReform.org ############################ To unsubscribe from the TRANSPARTISAN list: write to: mailto:TRANSPARTISAN-SIGNOFF-REQUEST@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG or click the following link: http://lists.thataway
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Michael Briand Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
Without gainsaying the validity of Sandy's observations, I would like to reiterate three important points: 1. What seems like abstract, complex argument is often merely a manifestation of very difficult deep issues and our inevitable lack of dexterity in articulating them clearly. They are explorations, and explorations are "less linear" than planned journeys. 2. What appears to be "debate-oriented rather than constructive and practical" dialogue may be just a superficial impression. B
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Sandy Heierbacher Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
Hi, everybody! As someone who has managed, moderated, created, and wrangled dozens of listservs over the past 14 years or so, I don't actually think that large listservs are a good platform for coordinating action. I also don't think listservs are spaces for real dialogue, the way NCDD members define the term. Listservs are convenient tools for communicating easily and quickly with a group, and can be great tools for encouraging networking and information exchange among people who have shar
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Tom Atlee Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
This elevation of action over conversation is intriguing. Of course they are not mutually exclusive. Both collective action without conversation and conversation without collective action are unlikely to have much impact. The most powerful is a synergistic dynamic between the two, with conversation shaping action and action informing the next wave of action-shaping conversation. (This is a major dynamic of collective intelligence.) One way to begin the process is to name an action and see
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Michael Briand Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
To one degree or another, I'm sure we all resonate with David's call to action. In the interest of advancing that aim, though, let me suggest that we will require a process for working through differences that inevitably will arise in the course of conceiving and crafting a plan of action. We will also need a subset of the listserv group, perhaps augmented with participation by a few non-members, to devote the time and energy that drafting a plan will ask of us. In my experience, difference
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Evelyn Messinger Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
As one of those who was active early on and has been silent lately, I want to thank David Nevins and second his statement. I've been interested in the ideas posted here, but like David I've hoped for action. Applying our shared interest in Transpartisanship to a cooperative project is the only way to get to the next step, where we would grapple with the facts on the ground and see if a movement could be grown. A listserve can be very effective as a way for a team to coordinate when engag
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM David Nevins Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
Jacob, I should preface my remarks by saying that I am new to listserv and to the NCCD. I am deeply involved with No Labels, a bi-partisan/transpartisan organization that is making major progress in the area of bringing members of Congress from both sides of the aisle together to dialogue, find compromises, and even agree on legislation to move our country forward. (No Labels currently has 94 members of Congress who are called Problem Solvers, 47 Democrats and 47 Republicans who meet regu
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM "Debilyn Molineaux, Living Room Conversations" Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
Hello Steve and Jacob, In March, when we initiated this listserv, we invited people to introduce themselves. This happened over the first two-three months...which may explain the drop in participation? If you have not sent out your introduction, we'd love to hear from you! Debilyn Molineaux, Managing Partner Living Room Conversations debilyn@livingroomconversations.org ############################ To unsubscribe from the TRANSPARTISAN list: write to: mailto:TRANSPARTISAN-SIGNO
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Lawrence Chickering EGG's new transpartisan website is up
I think of it as exuberantly transpartisan. I would welcome any comments or thoughts. Lawry www.educategirls.org A. Lawrence Chickering Founder and President, Educate Girls Globally (EGG) 1485 Main St., Ste 103c St. Helena, CA 94574 415.235.6628 email: lchick0203@gmail.com www.educategirls.org ############################ To unsubscribe from the TRANSPARTISAN list: write to: mailto:TRANSPARTISAN-SIGNOFF-REQUEST@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG or click the following link:
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Steven H Johnson Re: Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
Hi Jacob - You've touched on an interesting point. Why has this dialogue gotten much quieter? When my wife Martha facilitates group discussions, she likes to warm people up by going around the room and asking folks both to say their names and then tell the group stories about their names. That warms up the conversation; it also helps her remember peoples' names! It occurs to me that we are strangers to one another, by and large. Perhaps Joan and Debilyn and Sandy and Mark could inv
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Jacob Hess Decreasing traffic on the Transpartisan list
Happy August all! I'm getting pumped about the fall conference coming up - more than all the previous NCDD's I've attended. I have enjoyed many of the posts on this Transpartisan listserv and have been learning a lot. Mark and Debilyn's questions have really got me thinking - although I've mostly been "sitting with" my thoughts and trying to absorb what others are sharing. I'm preparing a few things I'd love your feedback on via the listserv prior to the conference - including a Red-
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Rick Raddatz Re: Perennial Conundrum
The purpose of cap-and-prioritize is (1) minimizing the odds of self-inflicted societal collapse (eg., Greece 2008) while simultaneously (2) pursuing maximum social justice and (3) pursuing maximum freedom. Theoretically, purpose #1 and #3 (minimizing odds of collapse and pursuing maximum freedom) could be achieved with a cap alone. However, a cap alone is neither politically viable nor politically sustainable so that's why the prioritizing step( the pursuit of social justice) is not option
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Michael Briand cap and prioritize
More questions, Rick: From: Rick Raddatz Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 9:36 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] A perennial conundrum Cap and Prioritize, on the other hand, would ideally be a combination of caps covering all spending, with each budget being capped in a way that respected that budgets purpose. What does "being capped in a way that respects that budget's purpose" mean? Is it the official purpose, as stated for example in the relevant au
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Rick Raddatz Re: A perennial conundrum
John, The Gramm-Rudman Act was a cap on discretionary spending and did nothing to ensure that the money that remained after the cap was spent wisely. Cap and Prioritize, on the other hand, would ideally be a combination of caps covering all spending, with each budget being capped in a way that respected that budgets purpose. And then, on top of the caps, would be the requirement that each budget be prioritized by whomever could do it best. The final prioritized budget would then be publis
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Michael Briand Re: Perennial Conundrum
Thanks, Steve. Some thoughts: Political self-righteousness cannot be overcome from within government. It needs to be overcome from within civil society. In the interest of being a bit more understanding of and compassionate toward each other, perhaps we could talk not of "self-righteousness" (though that might be accurate in many instances) but of "self-regardingness," or "self-interestedness." In any event, it does indeed originate within civil society. Like all institutions, incl
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM John Backman Re: A perennial conundrum
I must say, the "50 different experiments" line caught my attention. That's an intriguing idea. On another point-and Rick, please pardon me if you've already addressed this and I just missed it-I read your description of cap-and-prioritize and my mind goes instantly to Gramm-Rudman: a much-touted and even intriguing idea that didn't pan out. How do you see the difference between cap-and-prioritize and Gramm-Rudman? John Backman www.dia
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Rick Raddatz Re: A perennial conundrum
Social security, Medicaid, Medicare etc are discussed in section 3 of the paper at http://IncentiveReform.org/Pentanomics.docx The proposal is that all federal social spending is brought back "in" budget and block-granted to the states with the requirement that the states publish prioritized budgets. This creates 50 different experiments for how best to help people with that money. - Rick Raddatz, IncentiveReform.org > On Jul 22, 2014, at 9:37 AM, John Eley wrot
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Steven H Johnson Perennial Conundrum
> Hi Rick - > > "So you want a structure of government where the structure itself forces those in charge to make wise decisions" > > Um. Not quite. > > Political self-righteousness cannot be overcome from within government. It needs to be overcome from within civil society. > > Civil society can shape politics. > Then politics - thru the laws passed by elected leaders - shapes government. > Then government regulates within the laws created by elected politicians. > > The
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM John Eley Re: A perennial conundrum
The history of congressional attempts to manage the federal debt on a year to year basis is amble evidence that structural changes have little or no impact on congressional behavior in the absence of a willingness to follow the rules that the structure dictates. See the essay by Robert Samuelson in the Washington Post today for a review of that sad history. I suspect that cap and prioritize is another one of those changes that may work for a short time and then be honored in the brea
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Rick Raddatz Re: A perennial conundrum
So you want a structure of government where the structure itself forces those in charge to make wise decisions. Why isn't cap-and-prioritize the structure you are looking for? The cap guarantees fiscal sustainability (just like the cap in cap-and-trade guarantees environmental sustainability) and the transparency of prioritized budgets forces what's left of government spending to allocated wisely (just like the trade in cap-and-trade enables society to wisely allocate what resources are
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Steven H Johnson A perennial conundrum
When I think of the America I'd like to see, I find myself imagining an America whose major laws and institutions are shaped to respect core virtues and promote the national interest and the common good. When I think of the America we have, I see a political system whose officials are rewarded for their self-righteousness. Will the self-righteous produce laws that promote the common good? Hmm. Not too likely, it it? This disparity creates a huge clash between the civic culture that mo
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Rick Raddatz Common Enemies
One of the most powerful ways to unite a divided nation in a common enemy. However, this is a pretty difficult method for transpartisans to harness since (1) a common enemy that is dangerous enough to unite the nation might also be dangerous enough to destroy the nation; and (2) the unity is artificial, solving none of the underlying issues unless the temporary closeness accidentally creates beneficial discoveries. That said, I believe I have found a way to harness the uniting power of a
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Tom Atlee Re: People don't think straight + Politics makes us stupid
Yes, Steven, Hear, Hear! - with qualifications/notes as follows.... 1. I submit that random selection + a charge to find the best solutions for your community/country is the best combination available for evoking a sense of transpartisan/nonpartisan civic loyalty - unadorned pure peer co-creative citizenship. Bipartisan bridge-building is good, but is tied to - and thus reinforces/reifies - the questionable assumption that the diversity of human perspectives can be reduced to two partisan/i
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Steven H Johnson Re: People don't think straight + Politics makes us stupid
Hi Sandy, everyone - Can bridge-building soften tribal antagonisms? Good question. Tribal loyalties are everywhere. We indeed fashion our identities around our ideas and our loves. Could be anything. Cats. Quilting. Gardening. Partisan politics. Football loyalties. But civic loyalties, and identities based on our loyalties, represent a special case, one that deserves a many-sided look. Let me come at this as a deeper issue of universal virtues and vices. As citizens, we shar
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Sandy Heierbacher Quick survey for today: Let us know if you work with legisla
Hi, NCDDers! You may have seen Les' message about this yesterday. Later this week, Hawaii State Senator Les Ihara and I are both involved in an exciting workshop at the Kettering Foundation that will bring together 26 state legislators from 20 states to talk about effective public engagement. Les asked me recently to gather information about NCDD members who had worked with legislators (or are currently working with them), and with all the conference goings-on, I haven't been able to squeez
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Sandy Heierbacher People don't think straight + Politics makes us stupid!
Hi, Transpartisan List! I just posted something on the NCDD blog to add to the conversations we're having on the NCDD listserv about how people make decisions, and how rationality does -- and doesn't -- play into it, as well as our ongoing discussions here on the Transpartisan List. I'd love to see some reactions to this article (and the reflections I shared) in the blog comments so your comments can be seen more broadly by those who aren't on these listservs. The post is up at http://ncdd.
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM David Nevins Questions asked by Debilyn Molineaux
In response to the three questions asked by Debilyn Molineaux, Managing PartnerLiving Room Conversations, please note my thoughts below: THE QUESTION- HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE TRANSPARTISANWAY/DYNAMIC OR WHATEVER NOUN YOU USE: I believe the transpartisan dynamic should be a grassroots political movement based on the concept of bridging partisan divides and finding a higher ground. The dynamic should focused on uniting the many individuals and organizations that share the believe in governanc
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM "Debilyn Molineaux, Living Room Conversations" July Question on the listserv
Hello everyone, For the last few months, we (meaning me, Mark Gerzon and John Steiner) have been proposing questions for this group. Our intentions are to stimulate dialogue and to expand our understanding of people and thinking within the transpartisan field. We appreciate the opportunity to connect with you. Here are the questions for July: How do you explain the transpartisan way/meme/dynamic or whatever noun you use. How else do you and others you know and work with describe this
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Rickrad Re: The Consciousness Movement
Thanks Michael! I've attached a reply to Michael B's comments. In general, I'd just like to say that (1) we have 200 years of proof that capitalism, democracy and diplomacy/defense produce good results in spite of countless flaws in their implementation and the many complexities of the real world. And (2) all pentanomics does is extend the structure of capitalism, democracy and diplomacy/defense to collective resources and future resources -- solving precisely the problems people
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Michael Briand Re: The Consciousness Movement
I've attached some thoughts about Rick's summary of pentanomic theory. I hope I've understood his assertions. If not, that was unintentional. The questions I raise represent genuine curiosity about his model. Thanks. Michael Briand Chico, CA From: Rickrad Sent: Friday, June 27, 2014 7:37 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Consciousness Movement There is a strong and energetic consciousness movement that believes structural proposals (li
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Rickrad The Consciousness Movement
? There is a strong and energetic consciousness movement that believes structural proposals (like http://incentiveReform.org) are not the solution-- that the solution is the next evolution of human consciousness. I personally believe there is no conflict between these two approaches. Indeed, I believe the two are inseparable. I believe that because every leap in consciousness in the past was associated with a parallel leap in the institutions of government. I believe these paral
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Rickrad The objective vs the subjective
One of the complaints about capitalism is that it encourages people to focus on the material side of life instead of the spiritual or the communal side of live. In other words, capitalism encourages people to treat each other like means to an end -- like objects; that capitalism encourages greed by rewarding greed; that capitalism objectifies what should be subjective. Those who defend capitalism often point to how the most successful capitalist societies are often the ones that are most gen
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Sandy Heierbacher Escaping the Left-Right Box-In Match
Just saw that our good friend Tom Atlee has added a really interesting post about transpartisan efforts up on his blog at http://www.tomatleeblog.com/?p=175326701. I'll paste it below. Sandy Heierbacher Director, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation sandy@ncdd.org
* www.ncdd.org
* @ncdd & @heierbacher Join us at the next National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation this October 17-19 in the DC metro area! Learn more at www.ncdd.org/ncdd2014 -- and follow the eve
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Michael Briand CivilPolitics
Connecting the research on conflict resolution to its practice is a worthy endeavor, one that is just beginning to occur as well within dialogue and deliberation. Equally valuable, I would suggest, is connecting research on conflict resolution to research on (and the practice of) dialogue and deliberation. Michael Briand Chico, CA From: Ravi Iyer Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2014 10:13 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] A MAJOR MISTAKE AND APOLOGY Re:
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Ravi Iyer Re: A MAJOR MISTAKE AND APOLOGY Re: And the VILLAGE SQUARE
Hi all... I thought I'd take the mention of Jon Haidt's research in this thread as a queue to introduce myself and our organization, as well as offer our services. Jon Haidt is on our board of directors. CivilPolitics is a small relatively new group of academics that hope to connect the research on conflict resolution to the practice, hopefully improving both. The main way we hope to do this is by facilitating exchanges of information between practitioners and academics, whether that
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Steven H Johnson David Boies and Ted Olson - an example of transpartisanship?
Most all of us will remember Bush v Gore, with David Boies and Ted Olson as the dueling attorneys. Today they were on Charlie Rose, hawking their new book, Redeeming the Dream: The Case for Marriage Equality. For some time now, Boies and Olson have been working together on lawsuits to advance the cause of marriage equality, including the suit that led the Supreme Court to strike down DOMA. When they began their work, they say, only 3 states had laws protecting marriage equality. Now there
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM John Backman Re: A Call for Transpartisanship
Thank you for sharing this, Debilyn. I?m starting to develop an article on this report for the NCDD blog, and what has struck me is how little attention it has received. Yes, The PBS NewsHour ran a segment, and I imagine the other news networks devoted a little time to it, but this is the first article of any length that I?ve seen. Am I simply hanging out with the wrong news sources, or does it seem underreported to you as well? John Backman www
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM "Debilyn Molineaux, Living Room Conversations" A Call for Transpartisanship
Full op-ed online at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/16/opinion/charles-blow-politics-grow-more-partisan-than-ever.html?_r=1 Politics Grows More Partisan JUNE 15, 2014 Continue reading the main story Charles M. Blow For an increasing number of Americans, the tenor of politics has reached a near-religious pitch, in which people on opposing ends of the ideological scale take on theological properties: good or evil, angels or demons, here to either save our way of life or destroy it. Acco
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Rick Raddatz Re: A MAJOR MISTAKE AND APOLOGY Re: And the VILLAGE SQUARE
When it comes to healing deep disagreements I think it is very important to use a different timescale when judging results. E.g., some deep societal disagreements clearly take decades and some centuries. This also suggests that the method of discussion/deliberation may need to be adjusted as well. E.g. Getting representatives from across the political spectrum in a single room for a few hours or even a few days is unlikely to produce THE solution to our political divide no matter how we
VIEW 8/14/14 9:50 AM Michael Briand Re: A MAJOR MISTAKE AND APOLOGY Re: And the VILLAGE SQUARE
Re: And the VILLAGE SQUARELOL. Been there, John, and done that! For the record: We do need to be mindful of the "ladder of engagement" and sensitive to the different needs that different people have at different times with regard to involving themselves in discussion of policy and political issues. Each of the existing approaches to dialogue and deliberation makes a contribution to the project of building a more participatory democracy. My particular concern is with the resolution of de
VIEW 8/14/14 9:49 AM Liz Joyner The Village Square in The Christian Science Monitor
We were asked to write about the Village Square's approach to civil discourse by The Christian Science Monitor. The piece is up online today: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Common-Ground/2014/0611/Civil-discourse-that-doesn-t-taste-like-broccoli Liz -- *Liz Joyner Executive Director | The Village Square, Inc.http://www.tothevillagesquare.org **liz@tothevillagesquare.org | * *(850) 264-8785*
VIEW 8/14/14 9:49 AM Rickrad Re: Room to Grow?
From the point of view of pentanomics, 1) The Brooks piece is a collection of good ideas but since good ideas don't matter in DC, it (unfortunately) is just more noise. Let's fix the incentives first (http://IncentiveReform.org) and then we can argue about good ideas. 2) The 'not just george soros anymore' piece that John Miller forwarded lists the familiar critiques of capitalism but doesn't propose a specific solution (that I see), it only outlines what effect a solution would have. I
VIEW 6/11/14 10:56 AM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: Room to Grow?
My thought is that the time is ripe. Please see the below, which I find amazing (and heartening). (I'd also just note that, re Prince Charles's comment, the motto of the Windsors is
"Ich dien"--I serve.) I say, what can we do to be at least somewhat in the front of this, in any and all constru
VIEW 6/11/14 10:56 AM "Debilyn Molineaux, Living Room Conversations" Questions for June
Hello Transpartisan Colleagues, Every month we present a "topic of the month" to encourage more participation in the listserv and share ideas for increasing transpartisanship in our country. There is an assumption in transpartisan dialogs that all stakeholders participate. One of the challenges of our work is encouraging participation from people who are skeptical of process, too busy, have other priorities, etc. So this month we ask for a little introspection on who is "in" and who is "m
VIEW 6/11/14 10:56 AM Michael Briand Room to Grow?
Anyone have thoughts about the subject of David Brooks's column of June 9th: Room to Grow (http://ygnetwork.org/roomtogrow/), "the most coherent and compelling policy agenda the American right has produced this century"? Michael Briand Chico, CA ############################ To unsubscribe from the TRANSPARTISAN list: write to: mailto:TRANSPARTISAN-SIGNOFF-REQUEST@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG or click the following link: http://lists.thataway.org/scripts/wa-THATAWAY.exe?SUBED1=TRANSPARTISAN&A=1
VIEW 6/6/14 7:54 AM Steven H Johnson Re: Transpartisan map
(from before)

Hi Rick -

Let's see if I understand the assumptions you're using.  In each cell of this chart, there's a continuum of some kind, and within that particular continuum, there's a golden mean, or an optimal practice.  At the same time, there are ways of departing from optimal practice and not achievin
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM Steven H Johnson Re: Transpartisan map
Hi Rick - Let's see if I understand the assumptions your using. In each cell of this chart, there's a continuum of some kind, and within that particular continuum, there's a golden mean, or an optimal practice. At the same time, there are ways of departing from optimal practice and not achieving the best balancing of contending interests. So, for example, at the intersection point of Collective, and Resource Acquisition, you posit Limited Government as the most effective reconciling approa
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM Rick Raddatz Re: Transpartisan map
Thx Debilyn, The goal of IncentiveReform.Org is to (a) get the white areas of this map implemented (thus economizing out collective and future resources and achieving social justice andsustainability) and (b) spread awareness of this map, making it (eventually) the primary way humanity thinks about how to properly structure human conflict. - Rick > On May 30, 2014, at 5:02 PM, "Debilyn Molineaux, Living Room Conversations" wrote: > > Rick...th
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM Rickrad Re: Transpartisan map
I got a report that the image (the map) didn't attach properly last time. ?So here is the map again (attached). TranspartisanMap.png - Rick Raddatz p.s. The reason this is a *transpartisan* map is that the entire political spectrum can agree that the five ambition/resource conflicts exist, and that sets up the rest of the "map". Notice that this approach completely -- and naturally -- eliminates the "left / right" dividing line while still mapping the issues that define both sid
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM "Debilyn Molineaux, Living Room Conversations" Re: Transpartisan map
Rick...thank you for posting this map. Another question for consideration is where would you place yourself (or your organization) on this or another transpartisan map or landscape? Do you have a specific vision/mission within the field? What is the impact of you / your organization? For instance, Living Room Conversations plays a role in (re)building relationships with "the other" through a dialog process and the impact will be increasing the trust we have in one another. In the map
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM Rickrad Transpartisan map
Our goal this month, as per Mark Gerzon's initial post, was to make a map of the transpartisan landscape. I would like to propose this map (image below / attached). In the left column we see the five ambition / resource conflicts that exist whether we like it or not. The shaded rows describe modern government -- the solution our founding fathers came up with. The white areas extend the founders' logic to the rest of the problem space. It may not be obvious, but absolutely any issue ca
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: Is Ours a Culture of Hasty Findings? Can Transpartisan

I will try to be brief!

Michael's right that our inability to know certain things w
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM Michael Maxsenti Re: Is Ours a Culture of Hasty Findings? Can Transpartisan
Wow...what a great exchange! Thank you all. Let me interject a thought...at some point, and I believe that time is upon us, we must set aside theory and apply out collective best thinking to how WE can help slow down this run away engine of our government and turn it in a new direction. This years NCDD conference theme invites this. On Wednesday, May 28, 2014, Rick Raddatz wrote: > Thank you for this Sandy. I will read it tomorrow first thing. > > In the mean tim
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM Lawrence Chickering MORE THOUGHTS ON CAPITALISM AND TAXES
Two related themes that have circulated here relate to the 'fairness' of capitalism and possible uses of taxes to correct problems. These discussions have covered a variety of topics, but many remain. I thought it might be useful to mention a number of them briefly. ON CAPITALISM A central issue here has to do with whether, in a transpartisan vision, we need more capitalism or less. It is not surprising that the freedom quadrants of left and right tend to want more, while th
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM Rickrad The child and the philosopher
Early in this list's history, Sandy expressed a hope that this list would be more about action and coordination and not so much about philosophy. To bridge the gap between recent philosophical posts and Sandy's vision, I would like to share the old story about the child and the philosopher. THE CHILD AND THE PHILOSOPHER If you tell a child to stay out of the river, it will be a short conversation because everyone involved knows what a river is and for all practic
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM Michael Briand Re: Is Ours a Culture of Hasty Findings? Can Transpartisa
A propos my previous post, I do not think lack of completeness or complete certainty is "relativist." I'm nearing the end of the first draft of a book in which I argue that value in fact is objective. It shows just how deep the divisions between people at different ends of the political spectrum run, if we must debate whether Truth exists and reach a conclusion that satisfies folks at both poles. "Completeness" to my mind is the best way to allow for the (relatively more or relatively less) "
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM Rick Raddatz Re: Is Ours a Culture of Hasty Findings? Can Transpartisa
Thank you for this Sandy. I will read it tomorrow first thing. In the mean time, I would like to make clear that the 6 fundamental truths I proposed earlier are very different than the "truths" conservatives might rest on. These truths are self-contained, simple statements -- very similar to "I think, therefore I am". Only here, I am saying, "one person exists, therefore individual ambition exist... individual resources exist... And individual conflict (conflict WITHIN the individual) e
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM Sandy Heierbacher Re: Is Ours a Culture of Hasty Findings? Can Transpartisa
This reminds me of something we talked about at the 2008 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation. Some of you may not know that one of the 5 areas we focused on at that conference (in Austin) was what we called "The Framing Challenge." The framing challenge was focused on the question "How can we talk about this work (dialogue and deliberation) in a way that's accessible to a broader audience," and we looked particularly at conservatives. Here's a segment from an article I wrote on
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM Michael Briand Re: Is Ours a Culture of Hasty Findings? Can Transpartisa
Sorry, Rick, I don't mean to be pedantic about this (he says as he replies pedantically...), but John is right about uncertainty (see Godel on unproved assumptions in any system and Hume on inductive reasoning). Doesn't matter if every crow ever seen is black--the next one could be white. Doesn't matter whether everyone who's ever died stays that way--the next person might not. Even mathematics and logic don't produce certainty. Except at the theoretical extremes of continua, nothing is ever
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM Bruce Schuman Call to the center
I've been holding a blurry integral design in my head for quite a while -- pretty sure I could get it expressed, but not finding it so easy to do it right. "There are so many words, and they are so hard to hold in our heads all at the same time..." (Tom Atlee briefly commented on a related point in his last message) But today, I went back to a picture I found a while ago, of the Westminster Quaker Meeting House in London -- an image that was posted through the main N
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM Rick Raddatz Re: Is Ours a Culture of Hasty Findings? Can Transpartisa
So John Miller says "uncertainty is a given." With respect, I would like to disagree. I believe there are a few foundational things -- useful things -- that we can be *absolutely* certain about: 0) if no life exists, no ambition, resources or conflict exist. 1) if 1 person exists, individual ambition, resources and conflict (conflict inside the individual's head) exist 2) if 2 people exist, working together, collective ambition, resources and conflict exist (e.g. "What should WE do
VIEW 6/2/14 3:50 PM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: Is Ours a Culture of Hasty Findings? Can Transpartisa
Hi all!

It's going to take me more than a long weekend to read all this!

But I see some real opportunities for common ground in this general area. Thanks Michael!

And thanks Michael Briand, for your four-parter, and Lawry for a very helpful exchange. I am grateful to have my assumptions not
VIEW 5/26/14 11:16 AM John Steiner/ Margo King Intro, a bit of history, definitions and the field
Hi All, Warmest greetings... Thanks especially to Steve Johnson, for flushing me out re your recent definitions piece, to Michael Briand for your beautiful summary piece on transpartisanship (my only change would be not to use ³transpartisanism¹), to all of engaged in the ongoing richness and multi-dimensionality of our conversations. Before diving into content, I¹ve been meaning to chime in more personally from the beginning of this listserv, of which I was one of the lead organize
VIEW 5/26/14 11:16 AM John Steiner/ Margo King Intro, a bit of history, definitions and the field
Hi All, Warmest greetings... Thanks especially to Steve Johnson, for flushing me out re his definitions piece, to Michael Briand for your beautiful summary piece on transpartisanship (my only change would be not to use ³transpartisanism¹), and for the ongoing richness and multi-dimensionality of our conversations. Before diving into content, I¹ve been meaning to chime in more personally from the beginning of this listserv. Much of what follows is in collaboration with my wife and
VIEW 5/26/14 11:16 AM Rick Raddatz Re: delayed posts
Michael B says: I regard all the "Cap and ____ " prescriptions warily, because we know that, whatever theories say--whether capitalist, socialist, or any other "big idea"), in practice people find ways to "work the system" (or even "game" it, as Ross Douthat points out). In response, please consider that the beauty of capitalism, democracy and diplomacy/defense is that they produce such good results in spite of (a) the complexities of the real world (e.g. Those who would game the system)
VIEW 5/26/14 11:16 AM Michael Briand delayed posts
Sorry for the length of this post, but four of my previous posts were delayed. Thanks. Michael Briand Chico, CA 95928 530-345-3709 1. I share Steven's concerns and skepticism, but I also dislike waste, especially when the practices responsible for waste seem to benefit those who need and deserve public subsidy the least, while at the same time failing adequately to benefit those who need it the most. I regard all the "Cap and ____ " prescriptions warily, because we know tha
VIEW 5/26/14 11:16 AM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: A focus on empowerment vs. a focus on inequality
Hello Lawry,

I hear what you are saying. Perhaps it is not markets themselves that produce negative outputs so much as the way we approach them--again, our attitudes, what we bring to transacations (which can be more or less conscious of the "value" of what we are getting, in terms of the c
VIEW 5/26/14 11:16 AM Lawrence Chickering Re: A focus on empowerment vs. a focus on inequality
John, I know many people on this listserve will resist what I am about to write, but if you follow the idea of markets as truly value-free, then you will have to abandon most of your thoughts that markets somehow militate against the aspiration to higher, non-materialistic values. I agree completely with your second graf here, but inherent in it is the idea that one thing -- a very important thing -- people value is service to others. They do this for two reasons: first, becaus
VIEW 5/26/14 11:16 AM Lawrence Chickering Re: A focus on empowerment vs. a focus on inequality
Hi John, When I said economists see the market as value-free, I meant it only in the sense that free exchanges will involve exchange of what is valued by the two parties, not whether what is valued has moral value or not. Of course all exchanges will have moral content. I assume we could agree that when I buy organic tofu, the exchange has a higher moral value than when I buy candy. My point is that 'the market' doesn't care which I buy except in the moral stigma that might be
VIEW 5/26/14 11:16 AM Michael Strong Re: A focus on empowerment vs. a focus on inequality
"My question is, how can we minimize that shadow side and maximize the health-creating aspects of the global economic system?" 1. First, many people seem to be unaware that, thanks to the global economic system, more people are escaping poverty more quickly than ever before in history: http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/little-notice-globalization-reduced-poverty 2. Second, global poverty largely persists because of excessive government regulation in poor nations. That is, if poo
VIEW 5/26/14 11:16 AM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: A focus on empowerment vs. a focus on inequality
Hello Lawry,

Steiner would agree with you that markets allow transactions that are mutually beneficial, and he definitely saw a global economy as largely an extremely positive thing.

I would just say that any transaction involves more than an exchange of money for goods or services,
VIEW 5/26/14 11:16 AM Rick Raddatz Re: Do we see our theories more clearly than we see realit
The way out of this tragedy to economize collective resources via cap-and-prioritize and create a social-justice economy that works in parallel to capitalism. The way through the maze of conflicting expert opinions is to realize that ALL of the experts are out of context. Specifically, they are not aware of the possibility of a social justice economy running along side capitalism and so absolutely all of their work needs to be re-constructed in this new context. - Rick Raddatz, Incenti
VIEW 5/26/14 11:16 AM Lawrence Chickering Re: A focus on empowerment vs. a focus on inequality
John, Your thought about Steiner and motivation does not completely turn traditions thinking on its head. Market economies are about mutually-beneficial exchanges. People can't support themselves unless they do things that are valuable for others. So market economies are inherently 'other-regarding'. Lawry Chickering Educate Girls Globally Sent from my iPhone > On May 23, 2014, at 10:55 AM, wrote: > > Hi Lawry, > > Steiner's main contribution is
VIEW 5/26/14 11:16 AM Lawrence Chickering Re: A focus on empowerment vs. a focus on inequality
Hi John, Although I have read more than twenty of his books, I think, I don't know much about Steiner's view of money. It does not surprise me, however -- given his strong emphasis on freedom -- that he regards money (I would say, like the market) as value-free -- to do with them as our freedom leads us. Critics of capitalism tend to regard materialistic values as inherent in capitalism. Their belief in governments to humanize markets comes from their belief in governments r
VIEW 5/26/14 11:16 AM Lawrence Chickering Re: Do we see our theories more clearly than we see realit
Dear Steve, I am struggling to understand your meaning here. In large part I think this is because you seem to be hailing different 'realities' that in fact conflict. In the third graf you implicitly twit the theory that since labor is paid for marginal value, it is 'wrong' (your word) to interfere with the free operation of the labor market. [Unfortunately, you fail to say what you mean by 'wrong' here -- morally wrong? Or economically inefficient?] 'People,' you say, d
VIEW 5/26/14 11:16 AM Steven H Johnson Do we see our theories more clearly than we see reality?
Hi everyone - I've just been reading several days of posts and am impressed by the high-level conversations bouncing back and forth among us. Here's my two cents for this evening.... I am often struck by the ease with which our value systems and our theory systems confine and distort our abilities to sense what's really happening. There's a theory that tells us that labor is paid according to its marginal value, and therefore it's wrong to interfere with free operation of the labor
VIEW 5/22/14 3:58 PM Michael Briand brief highlighting of comment
I want to highlight the following brief excerpt from Lawry's note to John: "...I was assuming...that this community is committed to coding messages in accord with the mainstream economic and political idiom. ... I want to influence that idiom, and I see more opportunity to accomplish that from inside the mainstream debate than from outside." This is an important matter, one that affects both the content of our efforts to communicate with each other and our readiness to continue
VIEW 5/22/14 3:58 PM Michael Briand brief highlighting of comment
I want to highlight the following brief excerpt from Lawry's note to John: "...I was assuming...that this community is committed to coding messages in accord with the mainstream economic and political idiom. ... I want to influence that idiom, and I see more opportunity to accomplish that from inside the mainstream debate than from outside." This is an important matter, one that affects both the content of our efforts to communicate with each other and our readiness to continue
VIEW 5/22/14 11:37 AM Bruce Schuman Global ethics for a new politics
Thanks very much, John, for the link to Charles Eisenstein's book -- "The More Beautiful World our Hearts Know is Possible". http://charleseisenstein.net/books/the-more-beautiful-world-our-hearts-know-is-possible/scarcity/ The entire thing is available for free download -- in 35 chapters. I'd seen this book on Amazon, and heard about, but only seen the preview. I haven't read it all yet, but I will look at it closely. He brings a lot of refreshing new substance to this broad c
VIEW 5/22/14 11:37 AM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: A focus on empowerment vs. a focus on inequality

Hi Lawry,

Thanks for your very thoughtful response. You are obviously much more edu
VIEW 5/22/14 11:37 AM Lawrence Chickering Re: A focus on empowerment vs. a focus on inequality
Dear John, Your response has me spinning about, trying to think how to respond in a way that will be useful. First, I think you know that Rudolf Steiner, for more than forty years, has been the great intellectual and spiritual influence on my thinking on almost every subject. I had the good fortune to have an extraordinary disciple of Steiner's (a psychiatrist and also an Austrian) mentor me in his theories and especially his spiritual practices at the end of the 1960s, when I li
VIEW 5/22/14 11:37 AM Lawrence Chickering Re: A focus on empowerment vs. a focus on inequality
I would like to hear Michael Strong's thoughts on this because he knows more about it than I do. John, your discussion of scarcity and profits deviates so much from my understanding of economists' traditional view of both that you need to say a lot more than this to make a convincing case that the traditional economist's view needs a major overhaul. In the mainstream perspective, scarcity is not caused by anything; it is the defining characteristic of economic life. The challeng
VIEW 5/22/14 11:37 AM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: A focus on empowerment vs. a focus on inequality

Inequality per se can't be the problem because economic equality is not the answer. If we
VIEW 5/22/14 11:37 AM Rickrad Grover Norquist
?Is there anyone on this list in the DC area who would like to represent OneMillionModerates at Grover Norquist's weekly Wednesday meeting? Or do you know someone who would like this opportunity? I have an open invitation from Grover to have my group represented there. You'll have a chance to hand out a flyer before the meeting, speak each week for about 2 minutes towards the end of the meeting (when, sadly, the big wigs have left) and make connections. You could also hand out you
VIEW 5/22/14 11:37 AM Rosa Zubizarreta Re: a question
Hi Bill, I have been "lurking" occasionally as well. Your comment/question has drawn me out. From reading the article, I would imagine that the "backfire effect" is activated most, in situations where people are feeling some sort of threat to themselves or their identity, as a result of the new information that is being presented. However, when people are *not* feeling threatened, it seems that there is a very powerful evolutionary drive to make sense of new information and engage
VIEW 5/22/14 8:53 AM Rosa Zubizarreta Re: a question
Hi Bill, I have been "lurking" occasionally as well. Your comment/question has drawn me out. From reading the article, I would imagine that the "backfire effect" is activated most, in situations where people are feeling some sort of threat to themselves or their identity, as a result of the new information that is being presented. However, when people are *not* feeling threatened, it seems that there is a very powerful evolutionary drive to make sense of new information and engage
VIEW 5/22/14 8:53 AM Lawrence Chickering Re: A focus on empowerment vs. a focus on inequality
Michael expresses a position aligned with John Rawls's work: that our central moral focus should be on improving the condition of the poor -- reducing poverty -- rather than on reducing inequality. To believe otherwise (as a thought-experiment) -- if the two values conflict -- is to prefer reducing inequality to reducing poverty; or actually increasing poverty to reduce inequality. An odd position, to say the least. Lawry Chickering Educate Girls Globally Author: Beyond Left a
VIEW 5/22/14 8:53 AM Lawrence Chickering Re: Integral - or Die
Bruce, I don't want to try to respond to this entire statement. I only want to say more about what I meant by the statement you quoted below: 'We live in a connected world of subjects.' This can be read in different ways. Some of them, especially in talking about public life, are very abstract and esoteric. I mean it as something pretty simple, which everyone has experienced in private life. One challenge we face is to bring into the world (in public) things we know absolutely
VIEW 5/22/14 8:53 AM Michael Strong A focus on empowerment vs. a focus on inequality
Steven Johnson provides the usual talking points on inequality in response to Lawry's focus on empowerment. I would expect we have all heard variations on this data before. First of all, I agree that it is morally outrageous that some people, many of them wicked people, are rich and that others, many of them innocent children, are poor. Secondly, I have no a priori preference for an particular rate of taxation or redistribution. If I were to be convinced that a tax rate of 99% on i
VIEW 5/22/14 8:53 AM Michael Strong A focus on empowerment vs. a focus on inequality
Steven Johnson provides the usual talking points on inequality in response to Lawry's focus on empowerment. I would expect we have all heard variations on this data before. First of all, I agree that it is morally outrageous that some people, many of them wicked people, are rich and that others, many of them innocent children, are poor. Secondly, I have no a priori preference for an particular rate of taxation or redistribution. If I were to be convinced that a tax rate of 99% on i
VIEW 5/22/14 8:53 AM Bill Potapchuk a question
Greetings. I've been a lurker since the launch of this list and have appreciated all of the deep conversation. I have a questions/comment. In my work, I have been interested in the growing literature on why we are hard wired to not change our minds (See http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/05/13/backfire-effect-mcraney/ , for example) and that we filter data to confirm what we believe and ignore that which is contrary to our beliefs. In other spheres of human activity, there is
VIEW 5/22/14 8:53 AM Bruce Schuman Integral - or Die
(been writing this for an hour or so -- now there are a couple more messages, one mentioning "break-though". Well -- I am pushing for a big revolution in the entire subject -- a revolution to which I think we are compelled. Thanks.) Catching my breath, and feeling this conversation -- and sensing the pulse of hope somewhere deep in the heart of collective evolution -- this theme is hammering on me this morning, and I seem compelled to say this. We are called to a
VIEW 5/22/14 8:53 AM Rickrad Re: An Ideological Turing Test featuring arguments against
John, We are close to a breakthrough, you and I, I believe. Your last paragraph is the key. In it, you acknowledge that free-market capitalism is ideal in some sense, but that something is amiss when it comes to incentives for addressing (A) social problems, (B) long-term problems and (C) environmental problems. Let's address those three problems right now and reign in capitalism properly. First, to solve the social issues, let's agree that capitalism is good at creating opportuni
VIEW 5/22/14 8:53 AM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: An Ideological Turing Test featuring arguments against
I would hardly call (our) capitalistic system mature, in the sense of wise, when the chief source of wealth creation is investment rather than productivity. Certainly productivity requires investment, so investment is necessary. But the type of investment that predominates today--with an emphasis
VIEW 5/20/14 5:29 AM Steven H Johnson Re: An Ideological Turing Test featuring arguments against
So, uh, Rick, Lawry, vast amounts of income inequality are okay? Because a proper concern for economic justice would cause us to disrespect the ineffable? From 1945 to the early 80s, about two-thirds of the nation's pretax payroll went to Americans in the Bottom 90% and one-third went to Americans in the Top 10%. It wasn't "equal" but it was equitable. Then marginal tax rates were lowered on top earners, from 70% to 50% to 28%. At 70%, the strong weren't very well rewarded for enrich
VIEW 5/20/14 5:29 AM Rickrad Re: An Ideological Turing Test featuring arguments against
To clarify my comment, I meant using income inequality as the ONLY test of equality is bad. The whole point of the prioritize part of 'cap-and-prioritize' is to have the dialog -- to debate who needs help most and how to help them best. Importantly, this is a dynamic process... as the situation changes, so would the priorities. Cap-and-prioritize is, therefore, a rather flexible system that can adapt as needed... first providing a smooth transition to wean those off (people and corporat
VIEW 5/20/14 5:29 AM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: An Ideological Turing Test featuring arguments against
I want to emphasize the importance of what Lawry brings up. I would also like to consider expanding it a bit to bridging the perspectives of religion, spirituality, AND science. In saying this, I understand that science is a root cause of the mechanistic worldview that Lawry refers to, and so migh
VIEW 5/19/14 8:36 AM Rick Raddatz Re: An Ideological Turing Test featuring arguments against
Hi Lawry, I agree with your analysis 100%. The pursuit of social justice must take the ineffable / spiritual into account. Heuristics like income equality do not pass this test. Someone from AEI who reviewed my early work stressed how important it was that the prioritizing be a political process and not a cost-benefit formula-driven process. The reason, he said, was to capture the spirit of the people. He thought it was the only way it would be meaningful. This suggestion is consiste
VIEW 5/19/14 8:36 AM Bruce Schuman New social contract
Thanks to all for the very encouraging response to the Living Room Conversations survey I posted here yesterday. This is a brand-new potential, just taking shape, and though it seems very simple and almost obvious, it does feel wonderful that the apparent simplicity of this process seems to be working so well. All of this, of course, is subject to suggestion and slightly better ways to do things - but I wanted to offer a very natural follow-up, also taken directly from the Living
VIEW 5/18/14 5:20 PM Bruce Schuman Living Room Conversations
I was just looking at the Living Room Conversations web site this afternoon. The front page of the site offers six strongly positive affirmations for transpartisan citizen activism. http://www.livingroomconversations.org/ It immediately struck me that these affirmations are at the foundation of any new "social contract" that might emerge in the context of the transpartisan movement. So, I promptly created a "survey" - intended to get these affirmations onto th
VIEW 5/18/14 5:20 PM Rickrad Re: An Ideological Turing Test featuring arguments against
Michael B asks two very important questions: 1) How would the caps be decided in cap-and-prioritize 2) Is cap-and-prioritize compatible with participatory budgeting. Question #2 is easier... the answer is *absolutely!*. Participatory budgeting could help with both the capping and the prioritizing. e.g. a popular vote to raise taxes is a form of PB. Also, a PB committee could be instrumental in the prioritizing of programs, especially with regard to social-spending, as it is less tec
VIEW 5/18/14 5:20 PM Michael Briand Re: An Ideological Turing Test featuring arguments against
Thanks to Lawry for making this important point about human subjectivity, with its implications for individual empowerment and participation. I have just asked Rick R. and Michael S. about how the cap on federal spending they propose would be determined: by whom, through what type of process, according to what criteria? I asked whether participatory budgeting could be bent to that purpose. It seems to me that PB honors the values of empowerment and participation. Michael Briand F
VIEW 5/18/14 5:20 PM Lawrence Chickering Re: An Ideological Turing Test featuring arguments against
Michael (S), I regard myself as a 'bleeding heart libertarian', and I have thoughts about supporting Raddatz's proposal. Here goes: The vision of helping the disadvantaged that is currently dominant in our debate sees the problem as entirely an objective problem, which is 'solved' by resource transfers. This vision (unfortunately) sees the disadvantaged only as objects, which is a pitifully limited view of human beings. Worrying only about resource transfers to objects reduc
VIEW 5/18/14 7:27 AM Michael Strong Re: An Ideological Turing Test featuring arguments against
Michael, First of all, I want to thank you for your sustained, respectful, and enthusiastic embrace of the transpartisan cause. Second, my perception is that your amendments to my attempts to pass the Ideological Turing Test were of the nature of adding nuance and refinements to the positions I outlined rather than fundamental disagreements. That is, based on your amendments, I'd be inclined to give myself a "passing grade," so to speak, on the "test," while respecting that you added
VIEW 5/17/14 11:05 AM Steven H Johnson Defining the "field"
Hi everyone - Can we "define the field" of transpartisanship? That's the question of the month, and I'm guessing we won't be done by the end of May. Three different perspectives occur to me - transpartisanship as a method for mediating disputes among leaders within the current partisan context - transpartisanship as a method for developing wiser and more mature policy options - transpartisanship as a method for mediating disputes among grass roots activists I think all three appro
VIEW 5/17/14 11:05 AM Rickrad Re: An Ideological Turing Test featuring arguments against
I would like to respond to one of Michael B's most important concerns about cap-and-prioritize: Michael asks (paraphrasing): Is the cap in Cap-and-Prioritize a limit on what Americans can do (collectively) to help people in need? Answer: No. The only way to perceive the cap as a limit on our ability to help those in need is (A) to believe the government cannot spend better and (B) to ignore the opportunity cost of tax dollars. In other words, to properly understand the cap, it must be u
VIEW 5/16/14 6:46 PM Tom Atlee Re: Where Does Polarization Come From?
Dichotomous - binary, oppositional - thinking has existed for thousands of years. Taoism (ref the yin-yang symbol), Buddhism (interdependent co-arising), Rumi ("Out beyond right-thinking and wrong-thinking there is a field; I'll meet you there."), Hegel (the dialectic), Polarity Management, and numerous other non-polarizing perspectives have tried to give us positive ways to look at and deal with dichotomies. Many of these perspectives also highlight the tendency, when one side of a polarity i
VIEW 5/16/14 4:28 PM Jeff Weissglass Re: Where Does Polarization Come From?
Thanks to Charles Wisoff for posting the Stennis Center Report. Seems to offer lots of good thinking on the issue of polarization. I also recommend Ron Brownstein's 2007 book The Second Civil War. I thought he made a persuasive case that our current polarization is a return to the norm in American politics after an unusual period of comity that lasted from about 1940 to 1964. As I recall, he says that that the modern party system stabilized in 1896. From then until about 1930 we were quit
VIEW 5/16/14 4:28 PM Michael Briand Re: An Ideological Turing Test featuring arguments against
Thank you, Michael S., for this careful construction of a rationale. I can imagine someone subscribing to it, but (for myself, at least) I would amend it somewhat. 1. First, I don't believe "it is (a) self-evident to a moral human being that (b) once one's basic needs have been met, (c) most of the rest of one's wealth and income should be devoted to (d) helping those in need." (a) No propositions of any sort are "self-evident," though we often (because of Godel's proof) have to treat
VIEW 5/16/14 4:28 PM Michael Strong An Ideological Turing Test featuring arguments against Radda
In an earlier thread, I was surprised that after I came out supporting Rick Raddatz's "Cap and Prioritize" proposal, there were many follow-up posts that struck me as completely unrelated to my post. In going through to see how these well-intentioned people had thought they were responding to my post, I realized that if I put myself back into the progressive mindset, their seemingly unrelated comments might make sense. This sense of temporary disorientation led me to attempt to pass an
VIEW 5/16/14 12:39 PM Bruce Schuman Where Does Polarization Come From? Invitation
Thanks to all for this discussion. Many important points have been raised already in this series of emails. From my point of view -- it would make more sense to develop an "organized" approach to collaboratively brain-storm on this question -- and any issues that might arise on "what to do about it". Email is helpful and illuminating -- but it is also scattered, overlapping, and generally incomplete. Nobody can think of everything in one email (and thanks to Michael Bran
VIEW 5/16/14 12:39 PM Charles Wisoff Re: Where Does Polarization Come From?
Hi all, A while ago I read an interesting reportpublished by the Stennis Center (named after former Congressman John C. Stennis) about the causes of polarization. The Stennis Center convenes congressional staff fellows from across party lines. The fellows from the 112 Congress convened in roundtables and retreats spanning two years and consulted with a number of experts to produce this report. Whether or not you agree with their con
VIEW 5/16/14 12:39 PM Rick Raddatz Re: Where Does Polarization Come From?
Yes, but why do the silos exist? The two biggest silos are the left and right. And I believe these silos exist because nobody has united the parallel pursuits of ideal social justice and ideal freedom under a single vision of government. My hope is that once the left and right see that cap-and-prioritize unites the parallel pursuits of ideal social justice and ideal freedom, the silos will crumble and we will find a new issue to divide us. - Rick Raddatz Http://IncentiveReform.org
VIEW 5/16/14 9:19 AM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: Where Does Polarization Come From?
My take is that polarization is a symptom of the underlying (and increasing) siloization (hope that's a word) of our society. In a complex system, the parts are interconnected through webs of feedback loops. This is what distinguishes a group that knows one another and has formed relationships (wh
VIEW 5/16/14 9:19 AM Rickrad Re: Where Does Polarization Come From?
?Hi Michael, My response was primarily to the 3rd sentence in the original piece that squarely puts the blame for the hyper-partisan atmosphere on activists. I should have made that more clear that it was that one sentence, I was responding to, not the article as a whole. I stand my by claim that activists -- no matter how organized -- are not the root problem and I'll add that I do not believe gerrymandering is the root problem, nor uncompromising attitudes. I believe all these thin
VIEW 5/16/14 9:19 AM Michael Briand Re: Where Does Polarization Come From?
From: Rick Raddatz Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 2:10 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Where Does Polarization Come From? I would like to offer a dissenting opinion. The first rule of blame is that the thing being blamed has to be changeable. This article fails that test because activists are going to exist as long as humans exist. Yes, "ought implies can." But the argument is not that activists cause polarization, but that the nature of activ
VIEW 5/15/14 4:45 PM Rick Raddatz Re: Where Does Polarization Come From?
I would like to offer a dissenting opinion. The first rule of blame is that the thing being blamed has to be changeable. This article fails that test because activists are going to exist as long as humans exist. The second rule of blaming is that the thing you are complaining about must be something bad. Thus article fails that test because polarization is not clearly a bad thing. E.g., If it's true that both sides have a piece of the puzzle, then polarization is a necessary phase
VIEW 5/15/14 4:45 PM Brian Sullivan Where Does Polarization Come From?
Where Does Polarization Come From? From the Daily Dish, a blog by Andrew Sullivan (no relation) http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2014/05/15/where-does-polarization-come-from/ Hans Noel tries to answer the question: Members of Congress are not polarized because voters are now better sorted. And voters are not polarized simply because legislators now are. The missing piece is ideological activists, who now dominate the political parties. In short, policy demanders. These politically engage
VIEW 5/15/14 4:45 PM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: as summary of the conversation
Michael, this is incredible! (Both in the sense of "what a lot of work" and as wonderful condensation of what seemed like a very diffuse conversation.) I think it's a highly useful grounding document for the process you suggest.

Initially I was hesitant to be part of that process--just not
VIEW 5/15/14 4:45 PM Michael Briand as summary of the conversation
All: Please see the attached. For my own purposes, I undertook to reduce about 45 pages of email messages to about 7. I tried to organize all the contributions, without attribution, in a way that might make it clearer what people had said. I had no agenda other than trying to give us all a chance to reflect on what has been said, perhaps as an aid to moving forward. I hope you find this useful. Michael Briand ############################ To unsubscribe from the TRANSPARTISA
VIEW 5/13/14 2:45 PM Michael Briand following up on suggestion of April 22nd
All, I would like to follow up on my question of April 22nd: Would it prove useful to observe, and subsequently to reflect on, an attempt by a small number of selected discussants to initiate a constructive, productive dialogue concerning some issue that currently divides our society? My personal interest lies chiefly in the opportunity to identify where political discourse "goes off the rails;" to understand why it does so; and to consider potential facilitative interventions
VIEW 5/10/14 3:36 PM Bruce Schuman Network Nation - Pattern of the Whole
Thanks to all for this important list, and the good work that undergirds it. Partly in response to this leading issue for May -- and partly because this emerging new "Network Nation" project feels innovative and potent -- I wanted to show people a couple of new developments. With some guiding influence from the Codigital system, and some very helpful conversations with James Carr from Codigital -- and also under the wide-ranging influence of many new-thought leaders from acro
VIEW 5/9/14 3:59 PM "Debilyn Molineaux, Living Room Conversations" Transpartisan question for May
Transpartisan questions for May: What is the transpartisan field? Who is working in the transpartisan field? How would you map the field? The Center for Transpartisan Leadership created this graphic to help catalyze this conversation. Does this map feel right? How would you improve it? Will this assist us all in talking about transpartisanship? ############################ To unsubscribe from the TRANSPARTISAN list: write to: mailto:TRANSPARTISAN-SIGNOFF-REQUEST@LISTS.THATAWA
VIEW 5/9/14 3:59 PM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: The civic puzzle, theme of responsibility
I like it a lot. It seem like a very positive approach, with a good potential to get otherwise disparate segments working together for the common good.

John Miller
(952) 887-2763
Green Tea Party Movement
VIEW 5/9/14 3:59 PM Steven H Johnson Re: Conservatives
Hi Lawry - As a nation, we are so torn. Nothing new in that. Jefferson idealized local government by yeomen farmers who knew each other and knew their local challenges. And - here in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, it seems to me that local government reflects this impulse of Jefferson's. It has a more pragmatic edge because the players have all known one another face to face, in many different roles. At the state level, ideology creeps in. At the national level, ideology takes ove
VIEW 5/9/14 3:59 PM Steven H Johnson The civic puzzle, theme of responsibility
> Debilyn Molineaux asked me to resubmit this so that I might add my signature. Debilyn, you have forced me to create a signature..... :-) > > I see "responsibility" as just one way of posing the puzzle of good citizenship. > > We live in an America of commerce, and as thoughtful patriots, we want the nation's commercial life to go well. > > We also live in an America of enduring assets - communities with lengthy histories, environmental assets of many kinds, a civic tradition
VIEW 5/5/14 12:07 AM Bruce Schuman Re: Conservatives - values - cocreativity
It's Sunday morning, thanks for this reply and dialogue. Of course -- there are different points of view on all of these things -- and my own perspective is not only "outside the box" -- it could be described as calling for a new box... And yes, this is radical -- and some would say unrealistically ambitious or idealistic -- and in many ways, I understand and appreciate that perspective. Is there a realistic hope for an explosive new People Power -- linking leading-edge groups i
VIEW 5/5/14 12:07 AM Bentley Davis Re: Conservatives - values - cocreativity
Bruce/Bill and everyone Thank you for this inspiring discussion. I agree that we need to come along side the existing system. I agree that no one person can see the whole issue alone. I believe we can "collaboratively construct the elephant" by giving individuals the ability to express something more meaningful than even a vote on a specific topic. Encourage them to share why they feel a specific proposal is good or bad. We can reduce the overload by asking people to not repeat the s
VIEW 5/5/14 12:07 AM Bruce Schuman Re: Conservatives - values - cocreativity
I appreciate this response, and thank you. Just for perspective -- I might be a little radical (or a lot radical) -- because it looks to me like the problems with USA national governance are so fundamental that no "adjustment" is really possible. It looks to me like there are primary and "ontological" issues about the way we are doing things that are fundamentally misconceived. The category systems don't work. The language doesn't work. Human-to-human understanding doesn't work -- n
VIEW 5/5/14 12:07 AM William Schenken Re: Conservatives - values - cocreativity
All, Thanks for the great continued discussion. Re public values failure- If I remember right, something like 60% of the country wants to further restrict access to firearms. Congress just has incentives (campaign donations) to not act. To me, this is a failure of the two party system and that failure is that even though there is generic support for gun control, there is not broad consensus for a specific policy proposal or a way for voters to enforce it if the consensus were there. For e
VIEW 5/5/14 12:07 AM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: Fwd: Conservatives
I would say these things are bound to not be predictable--and certainly not smooth. That's just the way complex systems behave. As a example of how big changes may take place, I'd point to the tipping point in gay marriage that's recently been reached.
VIEW 5/2/14 6:13 PM Bruce Schuman Conservatives - values - cocreativity
Just to chime in on this - my own instinct on this - is to look for the deepest values in a vision of successful community. And work to build a movement based on people that share those values. We have to find them, and build from there. This is where the revolution is, imho - in a new vision of inclusive ("integral/holistic/collaborative/transpartisan") community. Some on this list want to find some strategy to manipulate the thinking of the mass market an
VIEW 5/2/14 5:01 PM Roger Bernier <0000000385bf13f9-dmarc-request@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG> Fwd: Conservatives
Not sure policies will always follow, and anyway, policy decisions delayed are policy benefits denied. For example, the values of the majority appear to be aligned on the value of human life and those values align with beliefs that guns increase the risk of death in the population as a whole. However, improved gun control policies are not following predictably and excess deaths are being recorded every day. This is an example of a "public values failure" as first described by B
VIEW 5/2/14 5:01 PM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: Conservatives

Good stuff, Bill! I would just say that, when values become aligned (regardless of what we believe, though it's nice if these become aligned as well), policies will follow, reflecting those values (given, of course, the inherent lag time due to resistance from vested powers).

Jo
VIEW 5/1/14 11:22 AM Rickrad Transpartisan humor (kinda)
Some transpartisan humor... We the people disagree on many things, but we do agree on four things: 1. MONEY -- We agree that democracies tend to spend more than they have 2. Priorities -- We agree we disagree on priorities 3. Incentives -- We agree the incentives are all wrong 4. Transparency -- We agree more transparency is good The punch line? If you put the capital letters together, it can be said that we agree government is a MONEY PIT : ) ? - Rick Raddatz Founder, Inc
VIEW 4/30/14 1:16 PM William Schenken Re: Conservatives
All, Sorry for a second message, but something just catalyzed for me in a response from Rick to my last message. The limit that I would like to see on government is a well informed, educated and engaged citizenry. To me that is where the conservative message rings true- we all have a responsibility to co-create a system of governance and participate in it. Most of us are currently shirking that responsibility by blaming Washington for our problems. We have allowed self-interested par
VIEW 4/30/14 1:16 PM Evelyn Messinger Do you know of a myth or meme about finding accord?
Hi everyone, In the absence of a political structure that gives people seeking accord a "home," everyone is forced to return to their "default" position (Liberal or Conservative) when it's time to seek information on a specific issue and make a decision. So I've been looking for founding myths that could lay the groundwork Transpartisanship. I have only found one with any cultural power: King Arthur's Roundtable. If you have another, or know of a current meme that speaks to overco
VIEW 4/30/14 1:16 PM Lawrence Chickering Conservatives
Steve, What person has a single, unitary concept of identity? The only people are extreme and disturbed, and they desperately want to search for more balanced lives, featuring some combination of separation and connection. What is the source of a 'shared responsibility'? Or more specifically: what accounts for peoples' sense of duty and obligation to others and to society? Steve, your suggestion that we start with 'shared responsibility' sounds like an abstraction, drawn from
VIEW 4/30/14 10:55 AM William Schenken Re: Conservatives
All, For me this conversation is about the level on which level partisan dialog should happen. It seems to me that the dialog would ideally happen at levels but that is not practical. We are never going to get everyone to agree on everything. So I think of three levels. First is values. By values, I mean the things we want *before* we define ourselves as conservative or liberal. They are inherently difficult to discuss because they are largely emotional and experiential. I view value
VIEW 4/28/14 10:01 AM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: Conservatives

I am going to risk an opinion (and a suggestion) based on five years of teaching in a high
VIEW 4/28/14 10:01 AM Michael Briand history
Would it make transpartisanship more concrete in if we could see it in the country's political history? Are there figures who embody what most of us would describe as transpartisan? Although Tocqueville, for example, was only an observer of early American democracy, his observations and reflections contain elements of what we would characterize today as both liberal and conservative. For example, he celebrated individualism, self-reliance, and responsibility for self and community. Yet by
VIEW 4/27/14 1:39 PM Michael Briand Re: Conservatives
As my friend Lawry Chickering has long argued, freedom and order (to which the idea of responsibility is related) are values in constant tension, both within society and within each of us. As individuals, we assign them relatively greater or lesser priority, depending on the arena of life activity in which the tension becomes manifest. Empirically, we can generalize how libertarians, conservatives, liberals, progressives, and others tend to prioritize the two values. What interests me, though
VIEW 4/27/14 1:39 PM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: Conservatives
I think we also have to talk about responsibilities, but I'm not sure we can do so without talking about freedoms, since the two must strike a balance.

Atomistic individualism feels like a more right wing, libertarian thing, while subjective values individualism feels like more of a scienti
VIEW 4/27/14 1:39 PM Rickrad The Bell Curve of Ambition
We've been talking a lot about policy, empathy, and dialog... but here's a completely different way to unite the left and right. It's something I call "The Bell Curve of Ambition" (see attached image / image below). A full description of the bell curve of ambition is in section 5 of this paper: http://IncentiveReform.org/Pentanomics.docx Very quickly, the key to understanding the bell curve is that the top row generally captures the worldview of the political-left (where capitalism,
VIEW 4/27/14 1:39 PM Steven H Johnson Re: Conservatives
Hi Michael, everyone - So - if I have an impassioned sense of civic identity - then a conversation about government is also a conversation about personal identity. "My sense of identity leads me to favor limited government." "My sense of identity leads me to favor an activist government." When we put those two ideas on the table, are we really talking about government? Or - indirectly - are we actually talking about the personal identities we prefer? Let me suggest a different starti
VIEW 4/27/14 1:39 PM Michael Briand Re: Conservatives
Rick and Michael S. have directed our attention to "limiting government" as a point of contention between left and right. I would like to probe this observation a little more deeply. In this recent blog piece (http://mb105wl.wix.com/michaelbriand#!page3/cee5), I try to surface problems with the concept of individualism as one source of this conflict. Whether or not you find the piece illuminating, or even accurate, I'd like to suggest that it serves as an example of how transpartisanship requ
VIEW 4/27/14 1:39 PM Evelyn Messinger Re: Conservatives
It's really helpful that Michael has laid out some specifics of how Conservatives feel. This brings to mind Debilyn's statements about people feeling victimized, especially because Liberals can create an equally long and detailed list of grievances. The idea of offering apologies is quite interesting. Perhaps a more attainable approach is for each side to acknowledge what they agree with in the other side's ideology and list of complaints. For example,Liberals could admit that increased ex
VIEW 4/27/14 1:39 PM Michael Strong Re: Conservatives
I haven't had time to dig into the details of Rick's "cap-and-prioritize" strategy, but I'm broadly in agreement with much of what he says here. Many libertarians and conservatives might be willing to negotiate with the left if the nature of the negotiation was along the lines of "how much is enough" (e.g. how much government spending, how much taxation, how much redistribution, etc.) But their perception is that for many on the left, there is never enough (never enough government spend
VIEW 4/27/14 1:39 PM Rickrad Conservatives
About a month ago, someone commented that the transpartisan movement seemed to be dominated by left-leaning individuals and that this is a problem. I would like to suggest a possible cause and two possible solutions. I believe the cause of the problem is actually quite simple: conservative philosophy (with a few notable exceptions) is about limiting government and since government is currently dramatically beyond such limits, conservative philosophy is unavoidably a "no compromise" type o
VIEW 4/27/14 1:38 PM Michael Maxsenti Re: A suggestion for your consideration
Hi All, I like Michael's idea a lot. :) *Michael Maxsenti* Political Communications Adviser * The Max Company Mike@TheMaxCo.com * Mobile 714.745.9830 A catalyst for unity in our politics and culture while cultivating and building new political paradigms for leadership and citizen empowerment. The collective impact of our voices and votes will change the course of our nation. On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 5:24 PM, Michael Briand wro
VIEW 4/27/14 1:38 PM Evelyn Messinger Re: A suggestion for your consideration
Michael, I can only speak for myself, but I think you have a wonderful idea. It's important that there be political diversity in the group...other kinds of diversity would be good too! Evelyn Messinger On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 5:24 PM, Michael Briand wrote: > All: > > > > Thus far the conversation on the list has been (it seems to me) largely > what we might call a "meta" discussion: a conversation about the nature of > and prospects for productive
VIEW 4/27/14 1:38 PM Michael Briand A suggestion for your consideration
All: Thus far the conversation on the list has been (it seems to me) largely what we might call a "meta" discussion: a conversation about the nature of and prospects for productive communication between persons having divergent political perspectives and proclivities who nevertheless are interested in engaging each other concerning the matters that divide them, with the hope that doing so might lead to mutual understanding and even, perhaps, some form and extent of agreement (or somethi
VIEW 4/27/14 1:38 PM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Debilyn--this version has info in my signature--worry about

The Dalai Lama says we need a secular ethic, with a scientific basis, that will help us do just that (make manifest outr interconnectedness). I feel that this could be an ethics of complexity-- and ecosystemic ethic. If we simultaneously ask, of a given option, is it good for me, is it
VIEW 4/27/14 1:38 PM millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Re: Defintions of transpartisan
I love this, Michael. I would also add that the lens of complexity theory--an ecosystemic perspective--can help us think in terms of (seemingly) conflicting goals being complementary rather than antithetical. In an ecosystem, sharks, kelp, mussels, and sea anenomes all pursue their various ends, b
VIEW 4/19/14 1:52 PM Michael Briand Re: Defintions of transpartisan
Evelyn, Thanks for your thoughts. Here's one for you: I'm not sure empathy "is something felt rather than done." If for the moment we substitute, say, "understanding" or "comprehension" for "empathy," it becomes clearer, I think, that empathy is a state of mind to be achieved. How we go about achieving empathy is another question. Moreover, "empathy" is usually distinguished from "sympathy," with the latter being a vicariously experienced feeling, the former a state of cognitive unders
VIEW 4/19/14 1:52 PM Michael Maxsenti Re: Defintions of transpartisan
Hi Evelyn, I greatly appreciated your comments added to Debilyn's post. If you have not seen this, I highly recommend watching this TED Talk, "A Radical Experiment in Empathy ." *Michael Maxsenti* Political Communications Adviser * The Max Company Mike@TheMaxCo.com * Mobile 714.745.9830 A catalyst for unity in our politics and culture while cultivating and building new political
VIEW 4/19/14 1:51 PM Michael Maxsenti Re: Defintions of transpartisan
Hi Evelyn, I greatly appreciated your comments added to Debilyn's post. If you have not seen this, I highly recommend watching this TED Talk, "A Radical Experiment in Empathy ." *Michael Maxsenti* Political Communications Adviser * The Max Company Mike@TheMaxCo.com * Mobile 714.745.9830 A catalyst for unity in our politics and culture while cultivating and building new political
VIEW 4/19/14 1:51 PM Evelyn Messinger Re: Defintions of transpartisan
Debilyn, You make two interesting points. Empathy is crucial to understanding, but may not be "essential" for indentifying as a transpartisan. Empathy is something felt rather than done. Personal stories can generate empathy, but the best way to empathize is to get to know someone different than yourself. So maybe the answer is not that empathy is needed to be a transpartisan, but that becoming a transpartisan will make you more empathetic. That said, it may be essential to growing a Tr
VIEW 4/19/14 1:51 PM "Debilyn Molineaux, Living Room Conversations" Defintions of transpartisan
This is for the Definitions of Transpartisan thread: One thing I find in all "transpartisan" conversations is empathy for those with whom we are speaking. I'm wondering if this is an essential ingredient? And if so, how do we develop more empathy in our society? As transpartisans, we begin conversations (not debate) around the topics...and with empathy we look for and discover solutions that are not possible from a debate, compromise or win/lose perspectives. This breaks down all the la
VIEW 4/19/14 1:51 PM Rickrad Re: Full Transpartisanship
Hi John, You raise a very important point. I think the key is to realize that a partisan confidently proposing a partisan solution is very different than a transpartisan confidently proposing transpartisan solution. I would love to get Don Beck's take on this, as I think spiral dynamics explains the path from partisanship (orange) to "dialog transpartisanship" (blue) to "full (structural) transpartisanship" (yelllow) better than I can. I will simply say that productive dialog
VIEW 4/19/14 1:51 PM Rickrad Full Transpartisanship
Most of us here, it seems, are "dialog transpartisans" meaning that we are focused on bringing all sides together for healthy dialog, deliberation and debate -- sometimes informally, (e.g. Living Room Conversations) sometimes formally (e.g. Voice of the People). I would like to make the case that such dialogs -- while essential -- are only a first step and that "full transpartisanship" requires something more. Full transpartisanship, I will argue, requires a vision of government t
VIEW 4/17/14 5:57 PM "Debilyn Molineaux, Living Room Conversations" Introduction=?windows-1252?Q?=85and_?=new listserv moderator
Hello all, I've volunteered to serve as moderator of the Transpartisan listserv. I'll be referencing the guidelines (pasted below) when moderating. Most often missed is the signature block...please include it in your posts! (and thank you...) Also, since I never sent out an introduction on myself, I thought this might be a good time. (smile) I've been around the transpartisan crowd for about 7 (or is it 8?) years...which followed a run for public office in 2003, where I had a transpar
VIEW 4/17/14 5:57 PM "Debilyn Molineaux, Living Room Conversations" Transpartisan Event at Harvard, 4/22 6 PM
The Harvard Kennedy School is hosting a conversation next week with transpartisan roots. If you are or can be in the area, please attend! Location: John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge, MA Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 Time: 6:00 PM The Tea Party and MoveOn: Finding Common Ground? A Challenges to Democracy conversation with Joan Blades, co-founder of MoveOn.org, MomsRising.org, and LivingRoomConversations.org, and Mark Meckler, President of Citizens for Se
VIEW 4/17/14 5:57 PM Michael Maxsenti Introduction
Hello Transpartisan community! I am very excited to have this opportunity of working with you all. I know that the time is right for the transpartisan perspective to take root and grow into a movement that will help our nation and the world find a responsible way through this transformation. Those who have pioneered this evolutionary thinking over these past many years, I wish to say thank you for not giving up. I feel blessed to have been brought here to be a part of this effort going fo
VIEW 4/17/14 5:57 PM Lawrence Chickering Re: important article, reply
My own take here is that emphasizing complexity makes the whole thing -- please excuse the crude irony -- more complex than it needs to be. Complexity comes from left-brain debating about mechanistic solutions. This is our mainstream debate at present, charged with fear and accusations of evil all around. The overriding variable is low trust -- or, in extreme conflict, absolute distrust. It is very tribal even in the most 'sophisticated' places. I think trust is key, and trust d
VIEW 4/16/14 1:10 PM Lawrence Chickering FW: important article, reply
From: Lawrence Chickering [mailto:lchick0203@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 9:36 AM To: Bruce Schuman Cc: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] important article, reply The deepest problem here, I think, is lack of personal engagement, which is essential to trust. Sarah Palin is almost invariably cited by critics who want to illustrate how simpletons see the world. Forgotten is the Sarah Palin as Republican Governor of Alaska who t
VIEW 4/16/14 1:07 PM William Schenken Study: America is an Oligarchy
Greetings All, Another important and relevant article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/04/08/rich-people-rule/ "Drawing on the same extensive evidence employed by Gilens in his landmark book "Affluence and Influence ," Gilens and Page analyze 1,779 policy outcomes over a period of more than 20 years. They conclude that "economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent
VIEW 4/16/14 9:49 AM Bruce Schuman Re: important article, reply
Very interesting and hopeful, thanks. Jonathan Haidt's "Righteous Mind" and Bill Bishop's "Big Sort" offer strong insight into the fragmentation of society. Haidt talks about the "tribalistic" tendency to self-righteousness - which does seem to indicate a kind of generic moral/ethical weakness in human beings - but maybe it's something that can be overcome by education and a broader exposure to "the other". If we "knew more about what is around us", maybe we would be less judgmen
VIEW 4/16/14 9:49 AM Liz Joyner Re: important article, reply
We've been addressing this problem in Tallahassee, FL for seven years now with The Village Square - http://www.tallahassee.tothevillagesquare.org (we'll be in four cities by this fall). We've become an important gathering place for unique civic forums that draw diverse citizens from across the political spectrum. We try to keep our programming interesting (no "eat-your-broccoli" civics because it isn't working), so people will choose to come rather than stay at home and turn on the ang
VIEW 4/15/14 5:32 PM "Bruce Schuman" The bottom-up definition and construction of political group
It's interesting and perhaps synchronistic that over the last several days, I had been looking at this same definition of "Transpartisan", as found here: http://mediators.abundancing.us/resources/transpartisan-definition/ I was looking for books and lectures by Mark Gerzon and John Steiner, listened carefully to a YouTube lecture on leadership, found a lot of wonderful material, and saw in all of this a very broad basis for agreement, at least for myself. This is a rich and
VIEW 4/15/14 5:32 PM "Bruce Schuman" test to out there
Does this work Bruce Schuman NETWORK NATION: http://networknation.net SHARED PURPOSE: http://sharedpurpose.net INTERSPIRIT: http://interspirit.net (805) 966-9515, PO Box 23346, Santa Barbara CA 93101
VIEW 4/15/14 5:31 PM "Bruce Schuman" test to out there
Does this work Bruce Schuman NETWORK NATION: http://networknation.net SHARED PURPOSE: http://sharedpurpose.net INTERSPIRIT: http://interspirit.net (805) 966-9515, PO Box 23346, Santa Barbara CA 93101
VIEW 4/15/14 5:01 PM William Schenken Re: important article, reply
Greetings All, Thank you to everyone contributing. I love this conversation. First, here are some links on Brigade Media which just announced serious venture capital funding as a private company to address our broken political system. The details are vague, though it serves as evidence for the growing interest in this space. http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/14/brigade-media-raises-9-3m-from-sean-parker-to-shake-up-american-democracy/ http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/napster-co-f
VIEW 4/13/14 1:09 PM Steven H Johnson Soft Transpartisanship, Hard Transpartisanship
Hi Bentley - Getting to the bottom of something isn't easy, especially if the usual suspects haven't done the analytic work that needs to be done - which is all too often the situation we find ourselves in. Let me offer another way to come at this. I believe we need to make a distinction to be drawn between Soft Transpartisanship and Hard Transpartisanship. Let me describe the reasoning that brings me to this conclusion. I am in the late stages of writing a book in which I seek to a
VIEW 4/12/14 6:22 PM Bruce Schuman Re: important article, reply
I like this thought, Bentley, it very much goes with my idea that with the right approach, and a sensitive human touch, maybe this process of "going deeper" - and possibly in high detail - or at the "scale" Steven is talking about - might be entirely feasible. How you/we build that "argument tree" you mention is an interesting question. I've been thinking recently that the entire structure of community itself is like a tree - with the trunk of the tree being the common ground that
VIEW 4/12/14 6:22 PM Bentley Davis Re: Fwd: important article, reply
Steve, I also found the article extremely interesting. You bring up an important point that "we don't actually get to the bottom of things; we go just deeply enough to confirm our prejudices, then we stop." It's hard to go deeper unless you are discussing it with someone that has the opposite belief. I have been working on structure and tools to help get people to the bottom and my most recent one is http://SettleIt.org (not a great name but it was available). It encourages groups of
VIEW 4/11/14 5:57 AM Steven H Johnson Fwd: important article, reply
> Thanks, Michael, for the link to Ezra Klein's very intriguing article. > > Here's my take on the issue Ezra's raising. I don't think we have a culture of seeking wisdom; I think we have a culture of seeking certainty, and that folks of all political stripes participate in it. The result is that we don't actually get to the bottom of things; we go just deeply enough to confirm our prejudices, then we stop. > > Here's a few examples. Social Security solvency. Framing the global warmi
VIEW 4/11/14 5:57 AM Bruce Schuman The bottom-up definition and construction of political group
Greetings, Transpartisans. With misgivings and apologies for the length of this message, I thought I would defy the odds and post it as a whole, rather than sensibly breaking it up into bite-sized pieces. I'll take my chances on the reception, and maybe do what I can to cite some of these points later, in small chunks. Thanks for your patience and your presence here! *********** It's interesting and perhaps synchronistic that over the last several days, I had been looking
VIEW 4/11/14 5:57 AM Rickrad The Partisan/Transpartisan Spectrum
There have been a number of posts recently about what it means to be transpartisan. * Some have focused on issues that are potentially transpartisan. * Some have focused on the need for dialog among citizens * Some have focused on the need for citizens cabinets * And I've been talking about a transpartisan philosophy called "pentanomics" (http://IncentiveReform.org) To show how all of these concepts might relate to each other, and how they relate to non-transpartisan thinking, here's a
VIEW 4/11/14 5:57 AM Marla Crockett Re: Fwd: Defintions of transpartisan
Hello--I've been reading entries on this listserv since it went up and have found it an interesting window to a new conversation. First, a quick introduction: I'm Marla Crockett, an independent consultant in the DC area and a member of the NCDD Board. I'm a former journalist (in public broadcasting), and that background informs and influences my take on things generally. Especially when it comes to language. So, here are a few comments on the word "transpartisan." I don't think it
VIEW 4/11/14 5:57 AM Tom Atlee Re: Fwd: Defintions of transpartisan
As I read over these definitions and recall earlier such discussions - and feel my own responses (which come from totally outside the partisan frame altogether) - I find myself wondering what the common denominator of all of them is. I find myself thinking of a generic definition for transpartisanship: of or pertaining to efforts to move beyond the limits of partisanship towards greater wholeness and more productive interactivity. Subsets of such efforts includ
VIEW 4/11/14 5:57 AM Lawrence Chickering Fwd: Defintions of transpartisan
I wrote the following email to John Steiner, who asked for my thoughts on definitions of transpartisan, and I am also including a response (below) from Joan Blades. Lawry Begin forwarded message: > From: Lawrence Chickering > Subject: Defintions of transpartisan > Date: April 9, 2014 at 04:01:00 PDT > To: John Steiner > Cc: Jim Turner , Joan Blades , michael ostrolenk
VIEW 4/11/14 5:57 AM Michael Briand Re: TRANSPARTISAN DEFINITION 1.0: Proposed April Conversat
“Transpartisan (adj.): working to strengthen the relationship between political parties while seeking innovative solutions to policy issues that respect but transcend specific party positions.” Not to go all Hegelian on everyone, but it occurs to me that there might be something useful to glean from Hegel’s concept of “Aufhebung,” which implies both preserving and changing while moving forward. (“Aufheben” means to “cancel,” to “keep,” or to “lift” (pick up). The English translations, “sublat
VIEW 4/9/14 4:05 PM John Steiner/ Margo King TO REGISTER FOR SWAMI BEYONDANDA
Psst .... Pass it on to your folks ... Swami is wanted for questioning! Swami Beyondananda LIVE in the Here and Now! The Shift Network presents Karma Talk -- An Hour of Cosmic Comedy With Swami Beyondananda -- and You Thursday, April 10th 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET Dear Co-Hearts: If you've ever wanted to really be in the here and now, this is your chance! Swami Beyondananda will meet you there this Thursday, April 10th 5 pm PT /
VIEW 4/9/14 2:22 PM Mark Gerzon TRANSPARTISAN DEFINITION 1.0: Proposed April Conversation
Dear Transpartisan listServ Colleagues, Thank everyone who has contributed so far to the Transpartisan dialogue on this listServ. We are heartened by both the number of people who have joined in less than a month (approximately 200) and the vitality of the conversation. We strongly encourage the *ongoing spontaneous conversation*that has proved to be so rich. Shortly after starting this listServ, we suggested potential monthly conversation topics that might focus our thinking
VIEW 4/9/14 2:21 PM Mark Gerzon TRANSPARTISAN DEFINITION 1.0: Proposed April Conversation
Dear Transpartisan listServ Colleagues, Thank everyone who has contributed so far to the Transpartisan dialogue on this listServ. We are heartened by both the number of people who have joined in less than a month (approximately 200) and the vitality of the conversation. We strongly encourage the *ongoing spontaneous conversation*that has proved to be so rich. Shortly after starting this listServ, we suggested potential monthly conversation topics that might focus our thinking
VIEW 4/9/14 2:21 PM Ted Celeste Introduction
Greetings: I have been following the introductions to this group and the great conversation, and decided I better let folks know about the efforts I have undertaken. I am a former State Representative from Ohio, who tried to undertake bi-partisan efforts as a legislator and felt the ever widening and deepening reach of caucus politics in every action we were undertaking. As I pondered my future after facing a new district with redrawn maps, I started to circulate an idea of creating a seri
VIEW 4/9/14 2:21 PM William Schenken Re: An Integral Transpartisan Alliance - Action Proposal
All, Thanks for the great conversation and the amazing contributions you are making. I'm not sure words could ever describe the gratitude I have for intention for a more humane world represented in all of the projects I have been learning about. I can see already that despite the substantial amount of shared understanding, there is great diversity of experience and practice areas. The diversity is both exciting and daunting. At the risk of premature idea sharing and with great humilit
VIEW 4/9/14 9:06 AM John Steiner/ Margo King Swami Beyondanda on air (in concert)-- Thursday April 10th /
Dear All, Please consider tuning in and sharing with your lists ? for a guaranteed fun change of pace! Steve is a wonderful transpartisan, current events humorist. http://www.wakeuplaughing.com/ Cheers, John and Margo Hi John and Margo: I would love for you to help spread the word about an upcoming virtual Swami event that EVERYONE can attend. On Thursday evening, April 10th at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET, the Swami will be hosting an online eve
VIEW 4/8/14 2:09 PM Michael Strong Re: important article
Thanks, Michael, that was an excellent and highly relevant article. This statement by Kahan, " I asked Kahan how he tries to guard against identity protection in his > everyday life. The answer, he said, is to try to find disagreement that > doesn’t threaten you and your social group — and one way to do that is to > consciously seek it out in your group. "I try to find people who I actually > think are like me — people I’d like to hang out with — but they don’t > believe the things tha
VIEW 4/8/14 2:09 PM Steven H Johnson The high level challenge of modern society
Hi everyone - I have a thought process about modern society to float here. Let's start by acknowledging that we live in cause-and-effect world. Not entirely, of course, but substantially. And it's a world in which many activities take place at great scale, and generate consequences at great scale, sometimes for good and sometimes for ill. There are different ways to respond. I can assert my rights and take actions without regard for their consequences. If the consequences are
VIEW 4/8/14 2:09 PM Rickrad Philadelphia Society Meeting Report
The Philadelphia Society is a group of very conservative political scientists, philosophers, economists, journalists, and business leaders founded in 1964. Milton Friedman was a founding member. I attended this meeting as a guest. Here are some key takeaways relative to the transpartisan movement: 1) I found one conservative there who was openly and actively seeking to find common ground between conservatives and progressives. His name is Gleaves Whitney from Grand Valley State Univer
VIEW 4/8/14 2:09 PM Michael Briand important article
Here's a link to a very good article (http://www.vox.com/2014/4/6/5556462/brain-dead-how-politics-makes-us-stupid) that’s directly relevant to the challenge of achieving transpartisanship. It explains why, if we want dialogue instead of “dueling monologues,” we need to deal with the human need for a robust personal identity. Michael Briand ############################ To unsubscribe from the TRANSPARTISAN list: write to: mailto:TRANSPARTISAN-SIGNOFF-REQUEST@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG or clic
VIEW 4/2/14 9:32 AM Ben Levi Transpartisan issue: Managing Climate Risks in the Southwest
One element of transpartisanship must be to encourage ³superordinate goals²? goals that many entities in conflict all want, but that no one entity can provide itself. I would point to one clear example happening as we speak? Climate Risks in the Southwest (including CA). EESI is having a briefing as we speak, and some of the solutions do encourage ³bipartisanship². But it¹s this kind of thing that we can use as a practice field for transpartisanship. Note that materials from this briefing
VIEW 4/1/14 12:15 PM Russ Volckmann introduction
I was attracted to transpartisan ideas through the work of Don Beck (SDi) and transdisciplinarity. Didn't hurt much that my PhD is in political science with a South Asia area specialty from Berkeley (meaning other than direct action during the 60s when transpartisanship was not the rule of the era, my focus was not much on the United States). This led to 30+ years of coaching and consulting with various academic gigs focused on organization development and related topics strewn around the timesc
VIEW 4/1/14 7:44 AM Bruce Schuman On the role of semantics in transpartisan dialog
Good morning, happy April (!) Yes ? that?s the big dream ? maybe led by starry-eyed (and hopefully not naïve) idealists, who would love to see a network/circle/conversation of "the broadest possible spectrum of American politics and governance within a kind of universal civility alliance.? Regarding this hope, I?ve been looking at some specific issues that I personally feel are critical ? but which usually don?t get an explicit mention in guidelines for civility (if you know
VIEW 4/1/14 6:38 AM Jacob Hess Re: An Integral Transpartisan Alliance - Action Proposal
Interesting stuff, Bruce...I love your enthusiasm. And what a perfect preface to our April conversation theme as Mark Gerzon articulated ("Clarifying Transpartisan") - as well as looking towards our July endpoint ("Taking Action"). No question "big forces are converging right now" (not all ennobling) - and that huge possibilities are before us as a society. As a social conservative member of this group, I especially appreciate that you're proposing engaging "the broadest possible spect
VIEW 3/31/14 7:47 PM James Davis Introduction.
Hello everyone! My name is James Davis and I just wanted to introduce myself. I am a 27 year old millennial who grew up in Maine and attended the University of New Hampshire (Blasphemy for any die hard Umaine hockey fans.) While there I engulfed myself in Model UN and studied Political Science, International Relations as well as Natural Resource Management. After Graduation I joined the Navy and became an Information Warfare Specialist subcontracted by the Defense Intelligence Agency at P
VIEW 3/31/14 5:31 PM Jacob Hess Introduction
Dear "high council of the transpartisan movement," (: I've been enjoying all your lovely insights these last couple of weeks - catching up now and then when time opens up. Though I often feel limited by current life circumstances to contribute all I want to this work, I'm honored to be included among you (and working hard to be able to make it to our Washington gathering). I've shared my background before on the NCDD list - a committed Mormon and social conservative whose heart-warm
VIEW 3/31/14 5:31 PM Richard Tafel Re: An Integral Transpartisan Alliance - Action Proposal
Thanks John, I also found I was accomplishing a collaborative public policy approach without the players slipping into their partisan roles. I really appreciate your feedback, Rich On Thu, Mar 27, 2014 at 1:37 PM, John Opdycke wrote: > Richard - I really appreciated your Forbes piece. The growing > conversation about ending poverty is so important. And front and center > must be an honest appraisal of the failure of traditional approaches and > the need for ne
VIEW 3/31/14 5:31 PM "Peterson, Pete" New Book on Relationship Between "Place" and Civic Engagemen
All, I thought you might be interested in knowing about a new book project on the subject of “Place” and its relationship to civic engagement… Why Place Matters: Geography, Identity, and Civic Life in Modern America was just released on Thursday at an event at Pepperdine (reviewed here in today’s Sacramento Bee). I have an essay in the bo
VIEW 3/28/14 6:51 AM Richard From Richard Flyer and Connecting the Good
  Hi all: Thought it would be a great time to say hello.  I'm Richard Flyer and have really enjoyed the conversations...thank you Sandy et. al for getting this together.   I have been reflecting where my work of more than 30 years fits in this dialogue.   I believe it was Tom Atlee who identified two aspects of Transpartisan strategy---one that works within the system, reaching across ideological lines (local, national) and one that works to transform the system by transcending ideologies altog
VIEW 3/28/14 6:51 AM Steven H Johnson Re: Putting questions on the table
Hi Bruce - There are so MANY tools one can reach for. It's such a challenge to choose well. I enjoyed the conversation you shared. It reminds me of my occasional "seeing" errors. I "see" something in the shadows that seems to be a horse from a merry-go-round. As it's sitting in front of a pizza shop, I know that can't be right. Then I get closer and I "see" better - it's a small motorcycle. And I realize that my mind "sees" all the time - but normally it sees cars as cars, and I do
VIEW 3/27/14 3:10 PM John Opdycke Re: An Integral Transpartisan Alliance - Action Proposal
Richard - I really appreciated your Forbes piece. The growing conversation about ending poverty is so important. And front and center must be an honest appraisal of the failure of traditional approaches and the need for new approaches. The Michigan Model is an important engagement of that. Kudos. John Opdycke On Wed, Mar 26, 2014 at 6:39 PM, Richard Tafel wrote: > Great stuff Bruce, you've really thought this out. I agree if we don't > move to action
VIEW 3/27/14 10:15 AM Steven H Johnson Putting questions on the table
Hi everyone - As a wonkish romantic (yes, I worked at Bain for three years in the 80s, and, yes, I came of age in the Sixties).... .... my largest concern is that a great many very important processes occur at vast scale, and when they are done badly, their consequences are damaging at vast scale. Which leads to this aspiration: That we aspire to have our society develop a capacity for competence, at scale. At a national scale, we would call it "enterprise-level competence" - a concep
VIEW 3/27/14 10:15 AM Bruce Schuman Re: An Integral Transpartisan Alliance - Action Proposal
Hi Rich, thanks for the comment. I took a close look at your article and some of your other links. http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/03/26/shark-tank-for-social-good-m ichigans-innovative-plan-to-end-poverty/3/ I thought I would go through it and identify what looks to me like ?transpartisan themes?. I like the idea of being explicit about what is new and innovative ? maybe I?m following your insights on ?the power of simple and clear definition? from your article
VIEW 3/27/14 10:15 AM Jim Rough Re: Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can un
Thank you for responding, Don ... Yes, I have a strategy in mind for how to facilitate our society to transform itself and overcome many of the huge, impossible-seeming problems that threaten our civilization. But this idea operates from a model of change that seems to challenge those attached to solution strategies based on other models … like education, changes to policy, election of new leaders, being independent of the grid, the development and promotion of new technologies, transformati
VIEW 3/27/14 10:15 AM Jeff Weissglass Introduction
Greetings. I’m very happy to be part of this conversation. After many years of exploring ways to bridge social and political divides, I decided to run for office last year and was elected to the board at our local high school. I try to bring bridging skills and perspectives to that role, and I also serve on the Leadership Council of the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, which works to apply best practices of mediation and facilitation to national issues. I am particularly interes
VIEW 3/27/14 6:37 AM peter altschul Accidental Common Ground?
Hi: Sometimes, chutes of common ground bloom despite the bluster and snarkiness of the gardener (OK, it's spring...(. Reactions welcomed, especially on my website. Thanks for reading - and please share. Best wishes, Peter Altschul, MS Columfia, MO paltschul@centurytel.net www.peteraltcul.com http://peteraltschul.authorsxpress.com/2014/03/26/accidental-comm on-ground/ ---- Original Message ------ From: "Peter Altschul"
VIEW 3/27/14 6:37 AM Geoff Ball Couple of other connections to some important thinking - Soc
All, Just wanted to make sure that "Social Labs Revolution" (see below this lead in) gets re-inserted in the conversation on transpartisan. Also, the book by Richard Pascale - Surfing the Edge of Chaos - needs also to be part of this conversation. All the best Geoff Geoff Ball, Ph.D. Geoff Ball & Associates 315 Bryant Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301 ghball@aol.com, cell: 650-279-9461 www.GeoffBallFacilitator.com From: Roger Bernier To: NC
VIEW 3/26/14 5:18 PM Richard Tafel Re: An Integral Transpartisan Alliance - Action Proposal
Great stuff Bruce, you've really thought this out. I agree if we don't move to action this list will die out. A good example of transpartisan success is the work in Michigan. Here's my oped in Forbes today. You'll hear the transpartisan themes throughout. http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/03/26/shark-tank-for-social-good-michigans-innovative-plan-to-end-poverty/3/ On Wed, Mar 26, 2014 at 1:24 PM, Bruce Schuman wrote: > Maybe it's the astrology, maybe
VIEW 3/26/14 1:04 PM Bruce Schuman An Integral Transpartisan Alliance - Action Proposal
Maybe it's the astrology, maybe it's my nervous stomach, maybe I read too much – but I'm feeling it.  We need an action proposal. We've got strong voices here, we've got competency, and we've got capacity.  We've got a broad activist spectrum from practical-hands-on to visionary idealism.  We've got an emerging core of common ground, and we've got who-knows-how-many reasons for urgency. Yes, we need to "keep talking about it".  There's lot to talk about.  And yes, we do have a good overvie
VIEW 3/26/14 6:02 AM peter altschul Re: Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can un
I learned while working with pro-life and pro-choice activists that while no one changed their views on abortion, they did successfuly work together on issues tangential to abortion (teen pregnancy, adoption, and the quality of the discussion). Part of the challenge was encouraging participants not to shy away from the common ground they had discovered. Best wishes, Peter Altschul www.peteraltschul.com Columbia, MO ############################ To unsubscribe from the
VIEW 3/25/14 9:24 AM "Dr. Don Beck" Re: Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can un
Thanks, Jim. "change" is indeed a complex matter, and hardly the simplistic behavior or even worse the humanism concept. You might check the work of both Professor Clare W. Graves and Muzafer Sherif who have a quite diffenent perspective. Sherif found differences based on levels of ego-involvement. Graves: You cannot change people, all you can do is relate what you are doing to their natural motivational flow. Three windows: Life Conditions which, when changed may release th
VIEW 3/25/14 9:24 AM "Dr. Don Beck" A possible Transpartisan package approach
I just wanted to introduce myself. What follows is based on decades of disciplined academic research, mind-brain analysis using fMRI, and actual field studies in difficult places where wicket problems confound us - South Africa, the Middle East, Iceland and all over Europe, and in dealing with extreme polarization in this country. My other partner, Elza Maalouf and I spoke recently at the National Assembly in France on threats from extremism, especially in Europe. Will gladl
VIEW 3/25/14 9:24 AM Jim Rough Re: Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can un
I like Michael Briand’s points, which I wrote in shortened form below On Mar 21, 2014, at 11:44 AM, Michael Briand wrote: > I am inclined to the view that transpartisanship in any meaningful sense is unlikely in the absence of a transformation in our most basic beliefs, the ones that are tied closely to our self-conceptions and our conceptions of the good and the right. If these never change, then no important transformation can occur.… I am deeply skeptical that any
VIEW 3/24/14 7:40 PM Joan Blades Self-introduction: Joan Blades
Wonderful to be hearing from folks in this group! My basic bio: I am a co-founder of LivingRoomconversations.org, an open source effort to rebuild respectful civil discourse across ideological, cultural and party lines while embracing our core-shared values. I am also a co-founder of MomsRising.org - over a million moms and people who love them working together to make our country more family friendly and MoveOn.org - millions of members working for Progressive change. Efforts to make
VIEW 3/24/14 11:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" List of events / conferences?
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Christie Findlay Sent: Monday, March 24, 2014 11:01 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] List of events / conferences? Everybody - I'm going to post an index of centrist/moderate/transpartisan groups, as well as a calendar of events hosted by these groups. Please let me know if you'd like me to add your group and/or 2014 events! Warmly,
VIEW 3/24/14 11:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" List of events / conferences?
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Christie Findlay Sent: Monday, March 24, 2014 9:11 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] List of events / conferences? I'm actually compiling that list this week, Rick! --- Christie Findlay Executive Director www.centristproject.org centristproject.jpg
VIEW 3/24/14 11:45 AM "Bruce Schuman" Apologies for the listserv backlog
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Sandy Heierbacher Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2014 4:33 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Apologies for the listserv backlog Hi, everyone! Sorry for getting backed up on the Transpartisan List moderating. This list has been busier than I expected; I may need to get a volunteer moderator to help ensure the messages are aligned with the ground rules
VIEW 3/24/14 11:45 AM "Bruce Schuman" MORE THAN ONE ISSUE; MORE THAN ONE NGO; WE NEED A MOVEMENT!
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Bruce Schuman Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2014 10:46 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] MORE THAN ONE ISSUE; MORE THAN ONE NGO; WE NEED A MOVEMENT! Dear Mark Gerzon - Good morning from Santa Barbara. Thank you for this discussion, thank you for your history of involvement with Transpartisanism. This morning, I was going throug
VIEW 3/24/14 11:45 AM "Bruce Schuman" Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Am
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Evelyn Messinger Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2014 10:17 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Americans? I see now that my money in politics post might be taken as a partisan statement, and I regret if I gave people that impression. My point was that when an issue has a large degree of public supp
VIEW 3/24/14 11:45 AM "Bruce Schuman" Hello and Thanks
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Phil Neisser Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2014 7:07 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Hello and Thanks Hello fellow transpartisans, and thank you so much for this impressive conversation. I have assembled a few thoughts as best as I can, in response to the many important things that have been said. First, I?m not convinced that public choi
VIEW 3/24/14 11:45 AM "Bruce Schuman" Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Am
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Steven Rubenstein Sent: Saturday, March 22, 2014 1:20 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Americans? Evelyn, Can you explain why you believe money is the problem? Or perhaps a better way to ask my question is: how will limiting the money bring about whatever change you feel is necess
VIEW 3/24/14 11:03 AM "Bruce Schuman" Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Am
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Michael Briand Sent: Friday, March 21, 2014 11:45 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Americans? Steven’s reply to Evelyn’s suggestion that money in politics is “the one issue” the transpartisan community might unite behind illustrates how elusive agreement can be even among persons who sha
VIEW 3/24/14 11:03 AM "Bruce Schuman" Need help naming a movement
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Bruce Schuman Sent: Friday, March 21, 2014 8:30 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Need help naming a movement Well, just to slide this in here, 'cause it seems to fit - in early 2010, just before I heard of the Coffee Party in March - when Annabel Park delivered her famous "rant" on Facebook - in her pretty purple coat in the snow - and show
VIEW 3/24/14 11:03 AM "Bruce Schuman" Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Am
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Andrew Rockway Sent: Friday, March 21, 2014 7:44 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Americans? Some great ways to share your feelings/opinions without spending money: Call/write your Congressperson Write a blog Write a letter to the editor Discuss political issues with your friends
VIEW 3/24/14 11:01 AM "Bruce Schuman" Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Am
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Sent: Friday, March 21, 2014 6:22 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Americans? There's a slippery slope between viewing free speech as spending money on, for instance, campaign ads and actually controlling--though blanketing the media with your ads--the message th
VIEW 3/24/14 11:01 AM "Bruce Schuman" Self-introduction: Agreedis.org
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Steven Rubenstein Sent: Saturday, March 22, 2014 2:00 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Self-introduction: Agreedis.org Figured I would introduce myself to the group. I am relatively new to the community engagement scene. I previously focused on being an entrepreneur (hate that word) and trying to make a lot of money. Alas, it turned out I was
VIEW 3/24/14 11:01 AM "Bruce Schuman" MORE THAN ONE ISSUE; MORE THAN ONE NGO; WE NEED A MOVEMENT!
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Lawrence Chickering Sent: Saturday, March 22, 2014 8:14 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] MORE THAN ONE ISSUE; MORE THAN ONE NGO; WE NEED A MOVEMENT! A dialogue on money would be very interesting. The trick will be to steer the discussion into a space where each side goes beyond regretting spending by the other side, holding (in effect) som
VIEW 3/24/14 11:01 AM "Bruce Schuman" MORE THAN ONE ISSUE; MORE THAN ONE NGO; WE NEED A MOVEMENT!
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Mark Gerzon Sent: Friday, March 21, 2014 7:09 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] MORE THAN ONE ISSUE; MORE THAN ONE NGO; WE NEED A MOVEMENT! I want to thank Evelyn Messinger and Steve Rubenstein for their spirit exchange about money in politics. To review: Evelyn made the compelling case that money in politics is the issue that could
VIEW 3/24/14 11:01 AM "Bruce Schuman" Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Am
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Evelyn Messinger Sent: Friday, March 21, 2014 9:20 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Americans? Just to reply to Steven. You wrote: "I think the bigger problem is not the money per se, but that it is too easy to hide who is actually spending it." I agree with you, and part of my idea in
VIEW 3/24/14 11:01 AM "Bruce Schuman" Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Am
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Steven Rubenstein Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2014 10:25 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Americans? No, this is not "the one issue" the community could unite behind -- because it is not just one issue. You need to define which money you are talking about -- lobbyists, direct campai
VIEW 3/24/14 10:57 AM "Bruce Schuman" Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Am
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Evelyn Messinger Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2014 12:25 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Is corrupt money in politics the ONE issue that can unite Americans? Briefly: my name is Evelyn Messinger. I am a television and web producer whose work focuses on bringing citizens into the policy-making process by leveraging their opinions via media - see our we
VIEW 3/24/14 10:57 AM "Bruce Schuman" Need help naming a movement
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Debilyn Molineaux, Living Room Conversations Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2014 10:41 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Need help naming a movement Ah...the language. Moderate, pragmatic, centrist... all words we use to describe us ubiquitous people who won't roll neatly into a party and/or label. We could also use Purple Pragmatists.
VIEW 3/24/14 10:57 AM "Bruce Schuman" Single Issue / Multiple Issues / All Issues
My name is James Davis, I am the founder of The Amalgamist, a non-partisan page on facebook that has gained lots of attention and now has nearly 7,000 followers. I have come up with a platform on my own and I would be interested in feedback. -Opposed to closed primary elections where 1st amendment rights are infringed upon that discriminate against non-partisan voters. -Stop Gerrymandering by having an independent government funded program that does not take money from any special in
VIEW 3/24/14 10:57 AM "Bruce Schuman" Self-introduction
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Lawrence Chickering Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2014 10:46 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Self-introduction I wrote my first book on a transpartisan politics in 1993, Beyond Left and Right (BL&R), which was an attempt, philosophically, to integrate the thoughts of left and right. The argument focused not on what both sides argue to be t
VIEW 3/24/14 10:57 AM "Bruce Schuman" Need help naming a movement
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2014 6:13 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Need help naming a movement I've always liked Vox Populi. Has a certain E Pluribus Unum ring and implies that this is the great majority that has been marginalized by the zero-sum game played by the two major parties. John -----Original Message--
VIEW 3/24/14 10:57 AM "Bruce Schuman" Introduction -- Center for Wise Democracy
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Jim Rough Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2014 6:09 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: -- SPAM --[TRANSPARTISAN] Introduction -- Center for Wise Democracy At the Center for Wise Democracy we have developed some social innovations - "Dynamic Facilitation," "Wisdom Council," "choice-creating"-aimed at facilitating all the people to come together as "We the People" .
VIEW 3/24/14 10:57 AM "Bruce Schuman" Need help naming a movement
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Steven Rubenstein Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 6:40 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Need help naming a movement United Purple Yes, it seems a bit goofy at first. But red and blue make purple. And there are many people who partially agree with the principles of both the Republican and Democratic parties. (Whether the parties themselves
VIEW 3/24/14 10:57 AM "Bruce Schuman" Single Issue / Multiple Issues / All Issues
[mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Bruce Schuman Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 12:54 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Single Issue / Multiple Issues / All Issues I've been wanting to post something about inclusion and simultaneity and ?holistic thinking? ? by which I mean ? find ways to ?include everything? ? and pretty-much ?all at the same time? ? with ideas on how this becomes feasible. I?d make the argument that th
VIEW 3/24/14 10:57 AM "Bruce Schuman" Need help naming a movement
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Rick Raddatz Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 4:16 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Need help naming a movement Hello fellow transpartisans, I need your help naming a movement. Our mission is to organize the moderates and triangulate the national debate. Our tentative name is OneMillionModerates.com because (a) if one million moderates orga
VIEW 3/24/14 10:51 AM "Bruce Schuman" End Partisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of John Opdycke Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 11:30 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] End Partisanship Transpartisan ListServ - John Opdycke here from IndependentVoting.org. I am a founding member of the ListServ, and I write today to share with you two things: First, a HuffPo article
VIEW 3/24/14 10:51 AM "Bruce Schuman" NETWORK NATION - Paycheck to Paycheck
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of John Steiner/ Margo King Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2014 1:47 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] NETWORK NATION - Paycheck to Paycheck Friends, Bruce sent this out to the NCDD list serve and seems appropriate for the Transpartisan listserv as well. Thank you Bruce. Very best, John From: Bruce Schuman Date
VIEW 3/24/14 10:51 AM "Bruce Schuman" Enrolling and Introducing
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Michael Strong Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2014 1:45 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Enrolling and Introducing Thanks for the proposed topics, Mark, as well as getting this conversation started. As I've already provided a brief introduction I'll explain why I enrolled below. I joined because I believe the most sensible solutions to many iss
VIEW 3/24/14 10:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" Enrolling and Introducing
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Michael Strong Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2014 1:45 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Enrolling and Introducing Thanks for the proposed topics, Mark, as well as getting this conversation started. As I've already provided a brief introduction I'll explain why I enrolled below. I joined because I believe the most sensible solutions to many iss
VIEW 3/24/14 10:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" PROPOSED MONTHLY CONVERSATION TOPICS
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Mark Gerzon Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2014 11:19 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] PROPOSED MONTHLY CONVERSATION TOPICS March 15, 2014 TO: TRANSPARTISAN LISTSERV COLLEAGUES FROM: THE FOUNDERS* Thank you for joining the Transpartisan ListServ, and welcome from all of us at Mediators Foundation. As you know, we have partnered wit
VIEW 3/24/14 10:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of John Steiner/ Margo King Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2014 11:16 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship Hi All and warmest greetings... Great threads here...mahalo! Several points to add... Somewhere around 40% of us self identify as independents -- whatever that actually means! Check out http://indepe
VIEW 3/24/14 10:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of millershed@EARTHLINK.NET Sent: Friday, March 14, 2014 12:07 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship Hi all, I am John Miller. I have not done anything significant in the transpartisan field, so I'm not sure why I was accepted on this list! I just want to voice some discomfort with "evolution of
VIEW 3/24/14 10:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of John Spady Sent: Friday, March 14, 2014 11:40 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship Speaking of "rewarding people" - the Community Forums Network (CFN) chose to instead reward organizations for helping to motivate their audiences to participate in community conversations on statewide topics. CFN is no
VIEW 3/24/14 10:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Evelyn Messinger Sent: Friday, March 14, 2014 11:18 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship Your message is very inspiring Bill, thanks so much for sharing it with us. I find the concept of rewarding people for engaging not only exciting but thought-provoking. I hope people on this list will put their minds
VIEW 3/24/14 10:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Bruce Schuman Sent: Friday, March 14, 2014 9:11 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship Thanks to all for the excellence and rising caliber of this conversation. It's exciting and very educational. It's so good to see the new voices coming in. In the context of the observed and well-documented "
VIEW 3/24/14 10:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Lawrence Chickering Sent: Friday, March 14, 2014 8:52 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship Dear Don, Thank you for this powerful statement. Your vision of Spiral Dynamics aligns completely with my own view of advancing consciousness of the self, which I adapted from Rudolf Steiner's t
VIEW 3/24/14 10:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Dr. Don Beck Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2014 2:15 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship It's not about ignorance -- there are what we call "Stratified Democracy" variations based on the Professor Clare W. Graves concept defined as "emergence, cyclical, double-helix model of bio-psycho-social developme
VIEW 3/24/14 10:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" Board of Advisors
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Rickrad Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2014 6:34 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Board of Advisors I am seeking advisors to help Americans for Incentive Reform get off the ground. If you think you can help, (or if you know someone who can) let me know! WHAT WE BELIEVE: AFIR believes it's wrong to blame politicians, political parties, voters,
VIEW 3/24/14 10:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of William Schenken Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2014 5:15 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship Greetings, Introduction: My name is Bill Schenken. I am on the Board of the Bellingham (Washington State) City Club, bellinghamcityclub.org. I was referred to this list as I am in the process of working t
VIEW 3/24/14 10:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of peter altschul Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 12:46 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship Hi: While I am certain that ignorance plays a role in citizen noninvolvement, I'm not convinced that's the main reason which, I believe, has to do with the rancorous ways most political leaders choose to react to t
VIEW 3/24/14 10:48 AM "Bruce Schuman" NETWORK NATION - Alliance Development
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Bruce Schuman Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2014 11:51 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] NETWORK NATION - Alliance Development Yesterday afternoon, I went up to the offices of the World Business Academy to meet with their founder Rinaldo Brutoco. http://worldbusiness.org Rinaldo is a lawyer and businessman who started off as an activi
VIEW 3/24/14 10:47 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Charles Wisoff Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2014 10:26 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship Hello Fellow Transpartisan people, I've found this thread to be very thought provoking, and I would like to share a few reflections. Beforehand, I want acknowledge the email Sandy just sent and follow the
VIEW 3/24/14 10:47 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Susan Clark Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 3:00 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship Thanks Will for your perspective which aligns with mine. I have not followed the whole conversation closely but wanted to chime in that I have been part of projects that make a distinction between political ignoran
VIEW 3/24/14 10:47 AM "Bruce Schuman" Introducing myself
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of peter altschul Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2014 9:54 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Introducing myself Hi: I unofficially started my "common ground" work in the early 1990's when I started forging partnerships among "unlikely allies" - universities and corporations; technology vendors and public school administrators; pro-life and pro-choice acti
VIEW 3/24/14 10:47 AM "Bruce Schuman" Introducing myself and reminder of list ground rules
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Sandy Heierbacher Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2014 8:49 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Introducing myself and reminder of list ground rules Hi, everyone! Just wanted to take a minute to introduce myself to anyone on the list who's not already involved in NCDD. I encourage all of you - especially those listed as list co-founders - to do
VIEW 3/24/14 10:47 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Steve Bhaerman Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2014 6:01 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship Thanks for the perspective, Will. I was in a cab the other morning in South Florida, and the driver had some morning drive time guy-and-girl in the morning kind of show on. I won't go into specific details, but
VIEW 3/24/14 10:47 AM "Bruce Schuman" Welcome to the Transpartisan Listserv, everybody!
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Richard Tafel Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 7:58 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Welcome to the Transpartisan Listserv, everybody! Thanks Sandy for pulling this together. By way of background, my education and passion in spirituality. I stumbled into politics in the late 80's and ended up seeing a huge gap between the gay and con
VIEW 3/24/14 10:47 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Rickrad Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 3:21 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship I see no conflict between widespread voter ignorance and the potential of deliberative democracy. In fact, widespread, rational voter ignorance will make it easier to implement deliberative democracy since it means we don'
VIEW 3/24/14 10:47 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Will Friedman Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 1:52 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship Interesting post, Michael. I'm going to quibble with it a bit--see what you think. I can understand why one would surmise that the sort of "political ignorance" that has been documented in various studies
VIEW 3/24/14 10:33 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Michael Strong Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 5:42 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship Evelyn, There is a substantial academic literature on the phenomenon of political ignorance, going back many decades with results from many nations. One of the findings is that most citizens in most nations ar
VIEW 3/24/14 10:33 AM "Bruce Schuman" The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Evelyn Messinger Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 3:44 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] The Uninvolved Citizen and Transpartisanship Engaging citizens is at the root of the Transpartisan mission, and some recent posts on this list provide an opportunity to confront the question of citizen engagement head-on. Rick Raddatz wrote, "60% of adults can't n
VIEW 3/24/14 10:33 AM "Bruce Schuman" Strengthen the Commons
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Bruce Schuman Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 10:08 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Strengthen the Commons I got an email announcement this morning from KOSMOS Journal – announcing their new web site. KOSMOS is a leading-edge review of integral and shift-related subjects, at a high level of credibility and excellence. http://www.kosmosjourn
VIEW 3/24/14 10:33 AM "Bruce Schuman" Report from Public Choice Society
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Michael Strong Sent: Monday, March 10, 2014 9:52 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] Report from Public Choice Society This is Michael Strong, co-founder of FLOW, a non-profit devoted to entrepreneurial solutions to world problems. Because our focus is entrepreneurial, most libertarians are sympathetic to our approach. Because we care about many
VIEW 3/24/14 10:33 AM "Bruce Schuman" Report from Public Choice Society
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Rick Raddatz Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2014 9:08 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Report from Public Choice Society I just returned from the annual conference of the Public Choice Society. Public Choice is a branch of economics that uses economic analysis to study everything besides capitalism. Here are a few takeaways that are relevant t
VIEW 3/24/14 10:33 AM "Bruce Schuman" A transpartisan philosophy
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Bruce Schuman Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2014 8:11 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] a transpartisan philosophy Hi, good to hear from you, thanks. I did mean to edit my message -- I did not merely "buy the Chickering/Turner book" ("Voice of the People: The Transpartisan Imperative in American Life", da Vinci Press, 2008) -- I studied it carefully.
VIEW 3/24/14 10:33 AM "Bruce Schuman" A transpartisan philosophy
From: Jim Turner [mailto:jim@swankin-turner.com] Sent: Saturday, March 08, 2014 9:59 PM To: Bruce Schuman; TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: RE: [TRANSPARTISAN] a transpartisan philosophy When a caterpillar turns into a butterfly is that a "shift into successful new future - or shift into spiraling decay and collapse" or both or something else? -----Original Message----- From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf
VIEW 3/24/14 10:33 AM "Bruce Schuman" Two Types of Transpartisan Work
from: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Tom Atlee Sent: Friday, March 07, 2014 6:17 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Two Types of Transpartisan Work Dear all, I'm happy to be part of this list. My transpartisan perspective arises out of my past work in collective intelligence and collective wisdom and the democratic manifestation of these phenomena as "public wisdom" or "the
VIEW 3/24/14 10:33 AM "Bruce Schuman" Welcome to the Transpartisan Listserv, everybody!
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Sandy Heierbacher Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 10:37 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] Welcome to the Transpartisan Listserv, everybody! Hi, everybody. We announced the Transpartisan Listserv on Tuesday, and we've already seen 120 subscribers roll in! I wanted to remind everybody about the purpose of the list and the listserv ground ru
VIEW 3/24/14 10:33 AM "Bruce Schuman" A transpartisan philosophy
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Bruce Schuman Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2014 3:11 PM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: Re: [TRANSPARTISAN] a transpartisan philosophy So good to see this project emerge – and so good to see the very substantial quality of its founders and participants. For anyone who loves democracy and the freedom and creativity of the human spirit, this undertaking shoul
VIEW 3/24/14 10:33 AM "Bruce Schuman" A transpartisan philosophy
From: List for transpartisan leaders and innovators [mailto:TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG] On Behalf Of Rickrad Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2014 11:05 AM To: TRANSPARTISAN@LISTS.THATAWAY.ORG Subject: [TRANSPARTISAN] a transpartisan philosophy Thanks for creating this transpartisan listserv! My name is Rick Raddatz and I am a transpartisan political philosopher, about to transition (finally) into a transpartisan activist. I would like to share a first-draft copy of a t

Book
Group
Issue
Person
Theme
Website
Anger and partisan rage
Attention Economy
Basic principles for a Transpartisan movement
Centrism
Collaborative problem solving
Common ground
Community
Community conversations
Conscious business
Creating transpartisan consensus
Crisis of democracy
Dynamic Facilitation
Facilitated conversation/dialogue
For transpartisanism to be successful, people must transform their most basic beliefs
Holding the tension of our differences while working together with respect and an open heart
Inclusion
Integral democracy
Integral politics
Integral thinking
Internet support for dialog and action
Out of Many, One - E Pluribus Unum
Partisan bubbles
Partisan disfunction
Political revolution
Psychological overload
Public choice economics
Science and accurate thinking
Stratified Democracy
Teleology and cultural evolution
Transpartisan alliance on specific issue
Uninvolved citizen
Unity and diversity
Unprecedented new approaches
Us versus Them
Voter ignorance
Weave together a movement of many initiatives
What is "transpartisan"?
Wisdom Council
Wisdom in society
Work together to create an activist vision